"Never Smile at a Crocodile" is a comic song with music by

Frank Churchill Frank Edwin Churchill (October 20, 1901 – May 14, 1942) was an American film composer and songwriter. He wrote most of the music for films directed by Walt Disney, such as ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Dumbo'', ''Bambi'', '' The Adve ...

and lyrics by Jack Lawrence. The music, without the lyrics, was first heard in the

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

film ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

''.

History

Churchill, who had composed most of the soundtrack for Disney's 1937 ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

'', composed "Never Smile at a Crocodile" in 1939 when ''Peter Pan'' was already in the planning stage. However, work on four other Disney feature-length cartoons led the studio to shelve the ''Peter Pan'' project until 1949. Churchill committed suicide in 1942 and the song was to be his only contribution to the ''Peter Pan'' soundtrack. The sung version with Jack Lawrence's lyrics was eliminated from the final print of the film when it was released in 1953. The final soundtrack contains only the instrumental version which is used as a

leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

whenever the crocodile appears. However, the full version with vocals by Stuart Foster and Judy Valentine was released that same year on an

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

LP of songs from the film. "Never Smile at a Crocodile" with its original lyrics has been subsequently recorded by several singers including

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

and

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

.Hanson, Bruce K. (2011)
''Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010'', 2d ed.
pp. 202; 209; 331. McFarland. The 1953 Jerry Lewis version became one of the top-10 best-selling children's records that year. An early Disney

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of the vocal version sung by

Henry Calvin Henry Calvin (born Wimberly Calvin Goodman; May 25, 1918 – October 6, 1975) was an American actor known for his role as the Spanish soldier Sergeant Demetrio Lopez Garcia on Walt Disney's live-action television series ''Zorro'' (1957–1959) ...

was added as a bonus track on later releases of the ''Peter Pan'' soundtrack including the 1997 CD release. The song also appears on a 1965 recording by

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) as Billy Cotton was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Cotton is now mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio a ...

and his band with vocals by Rita Williams and on the soundtrack of the 2007 film '' Rogue'' sung by The Paulette Sisters and Larry Clinton and His Orchestra .Shelley, Peter (2012)
''Australian Horror Films, 1973-2010''
p. 223. McFarland. This version is briefly featured in the 1998 film ''

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The Shop ...

'' (during the scene where Joe first meets Kathleen) although it is not on the official soundtrack album.

References

External links

"Never Smile at a Crocodile"
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*Hicken, Jackie (6 April 2014)
"15 Disney songs that were cut before they ever made it onto the big screen"
''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' (contains an audio clip of the song performed by The Paulette Sisters) {{authority control 1953 songs Comedy songs Disney songs Peter Pan (franchise) Songs about reptiles Songs with lyrics by Jack Lawrence Songs with music by Frank Churchill