"You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" is a song from the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning British musical '' Oliver!'', and the 1968

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film '' Oliver!'' based on the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. The musical was penned by

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...

, and was first shown in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

in 1960.

Background

The song is sung in Fagin's lair in a scene based on the section of Dickens's book where

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

(played by

Ron Moody Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...

in the film) teaches Oliver Twist and the rest of the boys how to pick the pockets of gentlemen so as to be able to steal their

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wi ...

s, etc., without being detected. It is the first song in Act I Scene VI. Fagin and the boys loosely dangle various "hankies" from their pockets while dancing around the room and doing

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

to show Oliver how easy it is to steal one without it being noticed. Although less pronounced than "Reviewing the Situation", this song has a Jewish melody. This song is sampled in the 2004 song "Large Amounts" by Ludacris, from the album " The Red Light District". The time signature of this song is 4/4, and it is in the key of F minor.

References

Songs about crime 1960 songs Songs written by Lionel Bart Songs from Oliver! {{show-tune-stub