Disney paid tribute to the Sherman Brothers by unveiling a new “Last Verse” written for the catchy and infectious earworm song that plays on a continuous loop in It’s a Small World — but will Disneyland add the new lyrics to the beloved attraction?
Disney shared the new lyrics penned by the late songwriter Richard Sherman for the “It’s A Small World” song during the recent “Untold Story of Mary Poppins” episode of ABC’s “20/20” news magazine.
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The 3 1/2-minute video reveals the new lyrics penned by Sherman shortly before his death in May: “Mother Earth unites us in heart and mind/and the love we give makes us humankind/Through our vast wondrous land/When we stand hand-in-hand/It’s a small world after all.”
Sherman shared the new verse with Disney CEO Bob Iger in 2023 as his final gift to the company’s film studio.
“Hearing Richard Sherman recite the final verse to ‘It’s a Small World’ before he died will be a moment I will carry with me forever,” Iger said in a statement released by Disney.
What Disney didn’t reveal was whether the new “Last Verse” lyrics will be introduced at the Small World attractions at Disneyland, Florida’s Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Which begs the obvious question: Is Disney preparing to update the catchy song on Small World attractions around the globe?
Past changes to It’s a Small World have triggered uproar among the passionate Disney fan community.
Walt Disney Imagineering added 29 Disney characters to the Disneyland attraction in 2008 that launched a “Small World War” of protests. Anxious Disneylanders are nervously watching the Groot overlay coming to Tokyo Disneyland in January.
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The 1964 “It’s a Small World” single created by Richard and Robert Sherman and recorded by the Disneyland Boys Choir was first heard inside the attraction at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. After the fair, the Small World ride was moved to Disneyland and eventually replicated at other Disney theme parks around the world.
The catchy song’s verse and chorus work in counterpoint to each other, according to Robert Sherman Jr., the son of the songwriter.
“This means that you can play the same chords over and over again, but with different melodies,” Sherman told SongFacts. “The repetitive, yet varied pattern tricks your mind into absorbing the work without it becoming tiresome to your ear. There are many who would disagree with this, however.”
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The infectious earworm has been played more than 50 million times making it the most-played song in music history, according to Time magazine.
The “Small World” song has been deemed culturally and historically significant by the United States Library of Congress and placed in the nation’s official music registry in 2022.