Lyrics
Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi
Do-re-mi, do-re-mi
The first three notes just happen to be
Do-re-mi, do-re-mi
(Maria)
Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti
(spoken)
Let's see if I can make it easy
Chorus
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do (oh-oh-oh)
(Everyone sings the Chorus twice)
(Maria)
Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do
So-do!
(spoken by Maria)
Now children, do-re-mi-fa-so and so on
are only the tools we use to build a song.
Once you have these notes in your heads,
you can sing a million different tunes by mixing them up.
Like this.
So Do La Fa Mi Do Re
(spoken)
Can you do that?
(Children sing)
So Do La Fa Mi Do Re
(Maria sings)
So Do La Ti Do Re Do
(Children sing)
So Do La Ti Do Re Do
(spoken by Maria)
Now, put it all together.
(Everyone sings)
So Do La Fa Mi Do Re, So Do La Ti Do Re Do
(spoken by Maria)
Good!
(spoken by Brigitta)
But it doesn't mean anything.
(spoken by Maria)
So we put in words. One word for every note. Like this.
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything
[spoken]
Together!
(Everyone sings)
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do
Do Ti La So Fa Mi Re
(Children sing)
Do Mi Mi
Mi So So
Re Fa Fa
La Ti Ti
(Maria sings the chorus while the children sing the verse above 4 times)
(Maria sings)
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything
(Everyone sings)
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to
(Everyone sings)
Do . . . So Do
Re . . . La Fa
Mi . . . Mi Do
Fa . . . Re
So . . . So Do
La . . . La Fa
Ti . . . La So Fa Mi Re
Ti Do - oh - oh Ti Do -- So Do
Information About Doe A Deer
The official name is "Do-Re-Mi,' from the 1959 Rogers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music. ' The song is sung when Maria is teaching the Von Trapp children how to sing and introducing them to the notes of the major musical scale. Lyricist Oscar Hammerstein set the song so that each note of the scale is sung at the pitch it names.
Maria begins with the introduction: "We'll start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start. When you read you begin with A-B-C. When you sing you begin with Do-Re-Mi".
The Doe a Deer song comes in the first act of the musical, helping Maria to break the children's wariness toward a new governess and overcome the gloom imposed by Captain Von Trapp on the household since the death of his wife. Mary Martin played the role of Maria in the Broadway musical, earning a Tony award for best actress, and the original cast recording is still available on CD. Most people are more familiar with the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews.
A popular cover of the Doe a Deer song was done by Alvin and the Chipmunks in the 1965 album "The Chipmunks Sing with Children".
The Julie Andrews recording is used for one of the most famous flash mobs ever staged at the train station in Antwerp, Belgium on March 23, 2009. The performance was a promotional stunt by a Belgian television station seeing someone to play Maria in a "The Sound of Music" production. It's said to have been done with only two rehearsals.
"The Sound of Music" remains the third highest grossing movie of all time among films in North America and fifth place worldwide, with earnings adjusted for inflation.
Alternative Lyrics & Related Songs
This is a more condensed version
Let's start at
the very beginning,
A very good place to start.
When you read you begin with A-B-C;
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi.
Do-re-mi, do-re-mi -
The first three notes just happen to be
Do-re-mi, do-re-mi -
Doe, a deer, a female deer;
Ray, a drop of golden sun;
Me, a name I call myself;
Far, a long, long way to run!
Sew, a needle pulling thread;
La, a note to follow Sew;
Tea, a drink with jam and bread;
That will bring us back to Do (o -o -o)!