Inchworm (song)

"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.

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 (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, Rachelle Ferrell, The Brothers Creeggan, Anne Murray, Kenny Loggins, We Five, John Lithgow, Mary Hopkin, Doris Day, Dan Zanes, Kurt Wagner, Lisa Loeb, The Sandpipers, and Patricia Barber. Performed instrumentally, it was a regular feature of the John Coltrane 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 segment on the ''Captain Kangaroo'' television show.
* Was sung in part by Principal Skinner in ''The Simpsons'' episode S2:E14 "Principal Charming".
* Inchworm has been performed in skits on Jim Henson's ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show''; the song was done twice by Charles Aznavour, 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'' episode ''Another Mother'', Al (Dean Stockwell) 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.
* The song was also briefly featured in the popular British schools drama ''Grange Hill'', 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-nominated band The Leisure Society 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''.
* A slightly re-worked version of "Inchworm" appears in the opening and closing sequences of the video game ''Paper Mario''.

References

External links

Song page at FrankLoesser.com

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1952 songs
English children's songs
Songs written by Frank Loesser
We Five songs
Danny Kaye songs