"Posh!" is an up tempo song and musical number from the popular 1968 Albert R. Broccoli motion picture, ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film sta ...

''. It is written by the songwriting team of Sherman & Sherman. It makes reference to the myth that the word "

posh Posh is an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Philip ...

" is an acronym for " Port Out, Starboard Home". In the film it is sung when "Grandpa Potts" (played by

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award nomination during his acting career. Early life Jeffries was born in ...

) is being carried away in his outhouse. He sees the situation as serendipitous until he finally meets his kidnapper, Baron Bomburst in Vulgaria.

Use in stage musical

The song is also featured prominently in the 2002 and 2005

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

versions of the film. In the stage musical versions, Grandpa sings the song to the children in the family dining room and not while being kidnapped. An extra verse was also added to the beginning of the stage version, to tell the story of when Grandpa sailed out from Liverpool.Archived a
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The song is reprised a few times and is used as "Grandpa's"

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 anglic ...

References

{{Reflist * Sherman, Robert B. '' Walt's Time: from before to beyond'', Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998. 1968 songs Songs from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Songs written by the Sherman Brothers