"Inchworm", also known as "The Inch Worm", is a song originally performed by
Danny Kaye in the 1952 film ''
Hans Christian Andersen''. It was written by
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...
.
Lyrics
The song's lyrics express a
carpe diem sentiment, with the singer noting that the inchworm of the title has a "business-like mind", and is blind to the beauty of the flowers it encounters:
:''Two and two are four''
:''Four and four are eight''
:''That’s all you have on your business-like mind''
:''Two and two are four''
:''Four and four are eight''
:''How can you be so blind?''
Subsequent verses include the lines "Measuring the marigolds, you and your arithmetic / You’ll probably go far" and "Seems to me you’d stop and see / How beautiful they are"
Loesser wrote a
counterpoint chorus that, sung by itself, has become popular as a children's song because of its
arithmetical chorus:
:''Two and two are four''
:''Four and four are eight''
:''Eight and eight are sixteen''
:''Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two''
In the film, a children's chorus sings the contrapuntal "arithmetic" section over and over inside a small classroom, dolefully and by rote, while Andersen, listening just outside, gazes at an
inchworm crawling on the flowers and sings the main section of the song. Loesser loved the intellectual challenge of such contrapuntal composition, which he also did in other works such as ''Tallahassee''.
Reception
The composer received a
fan letter
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or " fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for th ...
(signed pseudonymously, "Your respectfully, a Kansas inchworm") which said of the song:
Loesser was so touched by the letter that he placed a large advertisement in the largest newspaper in
Lawrence, Kansas — the ''Daily Journal World'' — in thanks. His correspondent wrote again, revealing herself to be teacher Emily Preyer.
[
]
Recorded versions
Inchworm has been recorded by many singers, including Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, Rachelle Ferrell, The Brothers Creeggan, Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
, Kenny Loggins
Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
, We Five
We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian & Sylvia's " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and ...
, John Lithgow, Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...
, Doris Day, Dan Zanes, Kurt Wagner, Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number 1 hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites,'' the first number 1 single for an artist ...
, The Sandpipers
The Sandpipers were an American easy listening trio who carved a niche in 1960s folk rock with their vocals and innovative arrangements of international ballads and pop standards. They are best remembered for their cover version of " Guantanamer ...
, and Patricia Barber
Patricia Barber (born November 8, 1955) is an American songwriter, composer, singer, and pianist.
Biography
Barber's father Floyd was a jazz saxophonist who played with Bud Freeman and Glenn Miller. She played saxophone and piano from a young ...
. Performed instrumentally, it was a regular feature of the John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and raise ...
Quartet's repertoire and appears on the album '' Coltrane''.
David Bowie said the song was the inspiration behind his 1980 song "Ashes to Ashes":
Use in film and television
* A recording of Danny Kaye singing it was used as the underscoring for a shadow puppet
Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-out ...
segment on the ''Captain Kangaroo
''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...
'' television show.
* Was sung in part by Principal Skinner in ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' episode S2:E14 "Principal Charming".
* Inchworm has been performed in skits on Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
's ''Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'' and ''The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...
''; the song was done twice by Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
, once in a regular sketch, and then again with Danny Kaye and the Muppets when he was on the show.
* The song was performed on the American children's television show '' Curiosity Shop'' (ABC).
* In the television series ''Quantum Leap
''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...
'' episode ''Another Mother'', Al (Dean Stockwell
Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...
) sang it as a lullaby.
* It was used in a 1995 episode of the UK television programme '' BBC Horizons'' entitled "Nanotopia", during a segment explaining the "assemblers" of Eric Drexler
Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for studies of the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was revised and ...
.
* The song was also briefly featured in the popular British schools drama ''Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running progra ...
'', being sung by the school choir during rehearsals.
* It was featured at the end of a fourth season episode of the show '' Northern Exposure''.
* In 2010, twice Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
-nominated band The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society are an English rock band formed by Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy of Burton upon Trent.
History
Hemming was formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks to Angels, which included actor Paddy Considine, and film director ...
performed the song for the American Laundromat Records children's compilation, ''Sing Me to Sleep - Indie Lullabies.''
* The song was also sung as a children's lullaby during episode 17 of the first season of the popular TV sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond
''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...
''.
* A slightly re-worked version of "Inchworm" appears in the opening and closing sequences of the video game ''Paper Mario
''Paper Mario'' is a video game series and part of the ''Mario'' franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems and produced by Nintendo. It combines elements from the role-playing, action-adventure, and puzzle genres. Players control a paper ...
''.
References
External links
Song page at FrankLoesser.com
{{authority control
1952 songs
English children's songs
Songs written by Frank Loesser
We Five songs
Danny Kaye songs