"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...

'', the 1964

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. It was originally sung by

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...

and

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

, and also is featured in the 2004 ''

'' musical. The song won the 1964

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

. In 2005,

included this song as part of ''Julie Andrews Selects Her Favorite Disney Songs''.

Songwriters

The song was written by

Robert B. Sherman Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter, best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman. The Sherman brothers produced more motion picture song scores than any ...

Richard M. Sherman Richard Morton Sherman (born June 12, 1928) is an American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Robert B. Sherman. According to the official Walt Disney Company website and independent fact checkers, "the Sherman Brot ...

(the "

Sherman Brothers 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 ...

") who also won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

and a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for ''Mary Poppins'' song score.

Inspiration

The song was inspired by one of the drawings of a

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...

created by Mary Poppins'

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, Don DaGradi. When asked about the drawing by the Sherman Brothers, DaGradi explained the ancient British folklore attributed to "sweeps" and how shaking hands with one or touching their sleeve could bring a person good luck. In their 1961 treatment, the Sherman Brothers had already amalgamated many of the P.L. Travers characters in the creation of "Bert". His theme music became "Chim Chim Cher-ee". In addition to the "standard" version of the song which Bert sings to the children, he sings short snippets of the song to himself at various times, with different verses specific to an unfolding plot element. The
Mentsch
music group notes some similarities with a

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

song written by Itsik Manger named "Vaylu". The song also shares some sonic similarities to the Yiddish folksong, Tumbalalaika.

Covers

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

on the 1964 album '' Chim Chim Cheree And Other Children's Choices''. (#6 RPM AC Canada) *

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

on the 1965 album '' The John Coltrane Quartet Plays''. *

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

on the 1966 album '' Goin Out of My Head''. *

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album ''Jazz Samba'', ...

released on Italian series I giganti del Jazz. *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

(on his 1968 album Thoroughly Modern Bing) *

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

released a complete Album with Mary Poppins songs, '' Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins''. * The

Howard Roberts Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early years Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 - a ...

Quartet covered this song in 1965. *

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and ...

on the 1965 album ''Chim Chim Cher-ee and Other Happy Songs'' (#7 RPM AC Canada) *

Mrs. Miller Elva Ruby Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name "Mrs. Miller", was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s, for her series of shrill and off-tempo renditions of popular songs such as "Moon River ...

covered the song for her first

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

album ''Mrs. Miller - Greatest Hits'' (

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

). * The Tinseltown Players on the some various albums including ''Chim Chim Charee & Other Kiddie Favorites'' *

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...

on the 1969 album ''

The Chipmunks Go to the Movies ''The Chipmunks Go to the Movies'' is a 1969 music album by David Seville and Alvin and the Chipmunks, released by Sunset Records, the budget-line subsidiary of Liberty Records. It was the final studio album by ''Alvin, Simon & Theodore with Da ...

'' *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

on ''

Disney Songs the Satchmo Way ''Disney Songs the Satchmo Way'' is a 1968 album of music from Disney films by the trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong and produced by Tutti Camarata. The album was recorded in Los Angeles at the same time that Armstrong filmed his brief appearan ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

. *

Rex Gildo Rex Gildo (formerly Alexander Gildo, born Ludwig Franz Hirtreiter; 2 July 1936 – 26 October 1999) was a German singer of Schlager ballads who reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, selling over 25 million records and st ...

, in German on 1965's ''Chim-Chim-Cheri'' *

Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with ...

on the 1999 album, ''

Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse ''Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse: Unique Musical Creations Based on Disney Songs'' is a Disney-themed music album by Mannheim Steamroller, released by Walt Disney Records and American Gramaphone in 1999 on CD and DVD. It features a few vin ...

''. * Pete Doherty performed this song live at the Meltdown festival in 2007. * The Three D's covered it on a Capitol Records 45rpm 1964 recording *

Joe Pernice Joseph T. Pernice (born July 17, 1967) is an American indie rock musician and writer, who has fronted several bands, including the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline, The New Mendicants and the Pernice Brothers. Originally from Holbrook ...

(as "Chim Cheree") on the 2009 album ''It Feels So Good When I Stop''. *

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding ...

on the 2010 album ''

Everybody Wants To Be A Cat Al Rinker (December 20, 1907 – June 11, 1982) was an American musician who began his career as a teen performing with Bing Crosby in the early 1920s in Spokane, Washington. In 1925 the pair moved to Los Angeles, eventually forming the Rhythm ...

''. *

Plastic Tree Plastic Tree are a Japanese alternative rock band. Formed in December 1993 in Chiba Prefecture, they released their first mini-album in December 1995, and in 1997, they released their first single on a major label. History Biography Plastic T ...

(in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

on the 2011 album ''V-Rock Disney'' *

Turin Brakes Turin Brakes are an English band, comprising original duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, and long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer. They had a UK top 5 hit in 2003 with their song "Painkiller (Summer Rain)". Since starting ou ...

as a 2011 single, with all UK proceeds going to

Shelter (charity) Shelter is a registered charity that campaigns for tenant rights in Great Britain. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people and lobbies government and local authorities for new laws and policies. It works in partnership with Shelter ...

. * On 2013 album ''Disney - Koe no Oujisama Vol.3'', which features various Japanese

voice actors Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

covering Disney songs, this song was covered by

Takuma Terashima is a Japanese voice actor and singer born in Ishikawa, Japan. Terashima graduated from Tokyo Announce Gakuin, voice training school. He had initially belonged to Holypeak until December 2008, and then to Production Baobab up until September 2011 ...

. *

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on ''Damon (TV series), Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmic ...

in ''

Amazon Women on the Moon ''Amazon Women on the Moon'' is a 1987 American satirical science fiction film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget films on late-night television. The film, featuring a large ensemble cast including cameo appearances from film and ...

''. * The Seldom Scene in the album ''Act3''. * An orchestral arrangement of the song was used in the 2021

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

advertisement "Chimney".

Parodies

The song was parodied by song parodist

Allan Sherman Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...

(no relation to the

), using the song's same title. In his version, he poked fun at the American merchandise seen on TV commercials. Supporters of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

teams,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, sing a version of the song which is a reference to each team's local rivals,

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

, who all wear claret and blue shirts. English comedian

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...

played on the lyrics to the song in the title of one of his stand-up DVDs, ''Tim Timinee, Tim Timinee, Tim Tim To You'' and on the cover it features Vine dressed up as a

Songwriters

Inspiration

Covers

Parodies

References

Further reading