My Favorite Things
“My Favorite Things” provides a moment early in the stage show, as Maria and Mother Abbess share their mutual love of a childhood tune. A list song celebrating a wide variety of subjects familiar to an Austrian child, the piece is a lilting waltz, alternating from minor key to major key. In the film, “My Favorite Things” was repurposed to be sung by Maria and the children, replacing “The Lonely Goatherd” as the song Maria sings to calm the children during a thunderstorm. Of all of the songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, “My Favorite Things” is one of the best known and most beloved.
Original handwritten notes for "My Favorite Things"
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
Brown paper packages tied up with strings—
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles,
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings—
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
Silver-white winters that melt into springs—
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad!
"My Favorite Things" (Rodgers/Hammerstein II)
© 1959, Copyright Renewed, Williamson Music Company (ASCAP) c/o Concord Music Publishing.
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.