Chim Chim Cher-ee Lyrics – Mary Poppins

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured Vocal: Gavin Lee
• Producers: George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, David Caddick
• Composers/Lyricists: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe
• Release Date: September 13, 2005
• Album: Mary Poppins – Original London Cast
• Genre: West End musical theatre, orchestral pop
• Language: English (Cockney dialect flourishes)
• Length: 2:26 (stage version)
• Label: Walt Disney Theatrical / Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.
• Trumpet: Tony Cross, Nick Thompson, David Ward
• Trombone: Eddie Tarrant • Tuba: Adrian Hallowell
• Drums/Percussion: Justin Woodward, Jonathan Morgan
• Orchestration: William David Brohn
• Recording Engineers: David Hunt, Devin Workman (assistant Mike Horner)
• Copyright © 2005 Walt Disney Music Company / Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The West End curtain hasn’t fully gone up when Bert—Gavin Lee in his soot-smudged glory—lets the wind change direction. “Winds in the east … there’s a mist comin’ in.” In these first lines the song text does three jobs at once: prologue, prophecy, and sneak-peek of that chimney-top waltz that anchors Mary Poppins folklore. The music is lilting but restless, pitched halfway between a music-hall ballad and an Edwardian street-cry. A quick bar of concertina, a dart of piccolo, then the whole orchestra hushes so the Cockney rhyme can do its trick. The moment feels both ancient and brand-new—like London fog rolling across LED footlights.

This 2005 stage reprise retains the Shermans’ original melody yet Stiles & Drewe slip in sly harmonic pivots, letting the minor mode darken just long enough to hint that not all is sunshine on Cherry Tree Lane. It starts playful, turns slightly eerie when Bert sings of “threads … unraveling,” then resolves in a jaunty “Chim chimney, chim chim cher-ee,” a refrain that delivers hope disguised as soot. The musical texture mirrors the story’s moral knot: family chaos seeking its magical knot-tier.

Winds in the east / There’s a mist comin’ in Like something is brewing / And ’bout to begin

Verse 1

Bert sketches the unsettled Banks household. The internal rhymes (“brewing / ’bout to begin”) chase one another like chimney swifts; the effect is sing-song yet uneasy.

“Family Thread” Couplet

A father, a mother, a daughter, a son / The threads of their lives all raveling undone

Notice the textile imagery. The Shermans borrowed Victorian sweep lore —touch a sweep for luck—then spun it into a family-therapy metaphor. The staging often shows Bert idly twirling a bit of string here, foreshadowing Mary’s future kite-flying cure.

Refrain

The refrain does double duty: rallying cry for chimney sweeps and thematic overture for the whole musical. The “chim chim cher-ee” hook began life as a lilting seven-note penny-whistle riff; Brohn’s West End orchestration fattens it with low brass, giving it the heft of memory.

Similar Songs

1. “Step In Time” – Original London Cast
   Both songs pivot on percussive, staccato vocal lines that mimic the choreography they underscore. “Prologue / Chim Chim Cher-ee” primes the ear with its tricky triple-meter lilt; “Step In Time” later slams the gas pedal, turning that lilt into a tap-dance riot. Lyrically, they share the sweep’s code of luck and camaraderie. Where the prologue is prophetic, “Step In Time” is pure kinetic release, but the DNA is the same soot-dusted optimism.
2. “Consider Yourself” – Cast of Oliver! (1960)
   Lionel Bart’s orphan anthem offers the same street-corner welcome that Bert extends to the Banks children. Both tunes lean on brisk, cock-of-the-walk rhythms and friendly second-person addresses. The social backdrop—Victorian London’s working class—makes the two songs musical cousins; one brandishes chimney brushes, the other a ragamuffin’s grin.
3. “When I Grow Up” – Matilda the Musical (2010)
   Tim Minchin’s playground reverie echoes “Chim Chim Cher-ee” through its mixture of childlike wonder and adult misgiving. Both pieces balance buoyant melodies against lyrics hinting at life’s dangers (“mist comin’ in” / “when the chainsaws start to roar”). Harmonically, each rides a gentle waltz, letting the innocence mask deeper commentary on responsibility and freedom.

Questions and Answers

Why does Bert feel the events “all ’appened before”?

The line hints at Mary Poppins’ cyclical visits—she arrives whenever a family needs course-correcting. It also fuels the fan theory that Mary once nannied Bert himself, explaining his calm acceptance of her magic.

Is this prologue present in the 1964 film?

Not in full. The movie opens with Bert’s one-man band routine, but the West End version stitches extra exposition onto the melody so theatre audiences understand the Banks household stakes pre-entrance.

Did “Chim Chim Cher-ee” chart as a standalone single?

Yes—The New Christy Minstrels’ folk-pop cover peaked at No. 22 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in September 1965, while Dick Van Dyke’s film version bubbled under at No. 123.

Has the song received major awards?

The original Sherman Brothers composition won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy the same year for Best Score Written for a Motion Picture.

Where else has the melody surfaced?

Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Louis Armstrong all recorded jazz versions; Burt’s refrain also cameoed in Mary Poppins Returns when Dick Van Dyke reprises a few bars during his Mr Dawes Jr. cameo.

Awards and Chart Positions

• 37th Academy Awards (1965): Best Original Song – Winner • 7th Annual Grammy Awards (1965): Best Score Written for a Motion Picture – Winner • Billboard Hot 100: New Christy Minstrels cover peaked at No. 22 (Sept 4 1965) • Bubbling Under Hot 100: Dick Van Dyke’s film version reached No. 123 (1965) • UK Singles Chart: Multiple versions entered the lower half through 1965 though none cracked the Top 20.

Fan and Media Reactions

“Gavin Lee’s opening lines land like a London fog—soft but impossible to ignore.” —The Stage (2005)

“I’d forgotten how haunting that minor-key intro is until I heard it live.” —Audience member, Prince Edward Theatre foyer

“Still gives me goosebumps. Pure childhood in two minutes.” —YouTube user @CherryTreeDreamer

“Lee nails the lyric’s half-whisper, half-whistle quality—suddenly the room smells of coal dust again.” —Evening Standard

“The sweep’s refrain is now shorthand for luck in our house; my kids quote it before exams.” —Reddit user @LampLighter92