"Trust in Me (The Python's Song)" is a song in the popular

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

film ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...

'', from 1967. The song was sung by

Sterling Holloway Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in ''Dumbo'', Ad ...

playing the part of

Kaa Kaa is a fictional character from ''The Jungle Book'' stories written by Rudyard Kipling. He is a giant snake who is 30 feet long. In the books and many of the screen adaptations, Kaa is an ally of main protagonist Mowgli, acting as a friend a ...

, the snake. The song was written by Disney staff songwriters

Robert and Richard Sherman The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades i ...

. In the song, Kaa quickly

hypnotizes Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

Mowgli into a calm, soothing, relaxing

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

, sending Mowgli walking along his body until he finally coils himself around Mowgli just like he did before. As the song concludes, Kaa readies himself to devour the boy, only to be stopped by

Shere Khan Shere Khan (Hindi- शेर खान/ English pronunciation) is a fictional Bengal tiger and the main antagonist of Rudyard Kipling's '' Jungle Book'' and its adaptations. According to The Kipling Society, the word ''shere'' (or ''shir'') t ...

the tiger in his search for Mowgli. Sherman, Robert B., '' Walt's Time: from before to beyond'', Camphor Tree Publishers,

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17 ...

, 1998, p 86.,

Composition

The Shermans were brought onto the film by

, who felt that the film in keeping with

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

's book was too dark for family viewing. In a deliberate effort to keep the score light, this song as well as the Sherman Brothers' other contributions to the score generally concern darker subject matter than the accompanying music would suggest. Sherman, Robert B., '' Walt's Time: from before to beyond'', Camphor Tree Publishers,

, 1998, p 84., "Trust in Me" originated from Disney's suggestion to add a song to Kaa's sequence, and was written by the Shermans based on "The Land of Sand", a song they had composed for

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

's '' Mary Poppins'' that ended up not being used. Kaa speaks and sings with a subtle, lilting

lisp A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech. Types * A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lispi ...

, giving the song a humorous dimension that it would not otherwise have.

Appearances and cover versions

The song appeared in several other media: *In the pilot episode of ''

Jungle Cubs ''Disney's Jungle Cubs'' is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996, serving as the prequel to the 1967 film ''The Jungle Book'' as it's set in the youth of the animal characters years before the ...

''—a prequel to the Disney film looking at the animals' lives when they were childhood friends—as Baloo sings about how the animals should enjoy their childhood, Kaa references this song when he starts to hypnotise Louie, as he sings "I'll learn to use these baby blues, Just put your trust in me". *In ''

Mickey's House of Villains ''Mickey's House of Villains'' (also known as ''House of Mouse: The Villains'') is a 2002 American direct-to-video animated comedy-horror film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is based on the animated television series, '' House ...

'', during the "It's Our House Now" musical number, Minnie is tossed to Kaa, who sings two lines from "Trust in Me" to her. *Part of the song is on the soundtrack of the ''

HalloWishes ''HalloWishes'' (also known by its full title, ''Happy HalloWishes: A Grim Grinning Ghosts Spooktacular in the Sky'') was a fireworks show that took place during " Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom t ...

'' fireworks show, mixed with "AEIOU", song by the Caterpillar of

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

as part of

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is a separate-admission Halloween-themed event held annually during the months of August, September, and October at the Magic Kingdom theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vis ...

at the

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

in the

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

resort. *The song plays during the ''Jungle Book'' 2016 live-action adaptation's end credits, performed by

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

, who voiced Kaa in the film. *In Series 22 Episode 3 of '' Top Gear'',

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear'' and ''The Grand Tour'' alongside Rich ...

makes a brief humorous reference to the song during a sequence in which he comes face to face with a mannequin's genitals. *In an episode of ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...

'', Daisy tells Lee that Lucy is falling under the spell of her old boyfriend Scott, like Kaa hypnotizing Mowgli. She imitates Kaa singing "Trust in me", though Lee thinks she's acting like

Hannibal Lecter Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected forensic psychiatrist; after his incarceration, he is consulted by FB ...

. The following artists released cover versions of the song: *

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. Q (maga ...

performed the song on their 1987 cover album LP, ''

Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

''. '' Sounds'' praised this non-traditional version as "quite astonishing. Whereas once it was about a python getting ready to crush a little boy to death, now it's a harp-laden lullaby of rampant, swirling eroticism". *The

Holly Cole Trio Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

covered "Trust in Me" on the 1991 release ''Blame It on My Youth''. *American alternative rock band

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

covered "Trust In Me" on their 1993 EP "Feed The Tree". *

Susheela Raman Susheela Raman (born 21 July 1973) is a British musician. She was nominated for the 2006 BBC World Music Awards. Her debut album '' Salt Rain'' was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001. She is known for energetic, vibrant, syncretic, and u ...

covered "Trust in Me" on her debut album, ''Salt Rain'', in 2001. *The Dead Brothers performed a dark, psychedelic and bluesy version on their 2006 album ''Wunderkammer''. *

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

performed the song in 2010 for the album ''

DisneyMania 7 ''Disneymania 7'' is the seventh and final installment in the '' Disneymania'' series. It features a variety of contemporary performers performing Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational m ...

''. *

That Handsome Devil That Handsome Devil, often shortened to THD, is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, by way of Boston, Massachusetts. The band mixes genres such as rock, funk, jazz, jive, blues, surf, rhythm and blues, reggae, rockabilly, ...

included the song in their 2012 re-interpretation of the ''Jungle Book'' songs.

References

{{Authority control 1967 songs 1987 singles 2010 singles Songs written by the Sherman Brothers Songs from The Jungle Book (1967 film) Siouxsie and the Banshees songs Selena Gomez songs Scarlett Johansson songs