Does the word have an official definition?

Only a playful one: dictionaries label it “nonsense used to express enthusiastic approval”, which is precisely the point.

How fast is the song performed?

Roughly 160–170 bpm live, though some matinees crank it higher for giggles.

Was the song ever sued for plagiarism?

Yes. A 1949 novelty track claimed priority, but Disney prevailed after proving schoolchildren had passed variants around long before either song was published.

Who arranged the London orchestration?

William David Brohn blended fairground organs with pit-band punch, giving the classic tune fresh propulsive sparkle.

Is this still the longest word sung on a West End stage?

Unofficially yes – fifty-four syllables dwarf most challengers, even if lyricists keep trying to break the record.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Lyrics — Mary Poppins

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Lyrics

Mary Poppins:
Super,
Calif,
Ragilistic,
Expialid,
Ocious!
Oh!

Michael (spoken):
That's not a word!

Mary Poppins (spoken):
Of course it's a word, and unless I'm very much mistaken, I think it's going to prove a rather useful one!

Mary Poppins:
When trying to express oneself, it's frankly quite absurd,
To leaf through lengthy lexicons to find the perfect word.
A little spontaneity keeps conversation keen,
You need to find a way to say, precisely what you mean...

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
If you say it loud enough, you'll always sound precocious,

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Ensemble:
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

Bert:
When Stone Age men were chatting, merely grunting would suffice.

Mrs. Corry:
Now if they heard this word, they might have used it once or twice!

Mary Poppins:
I'm sure the Roman Empire only entered the abyss,
Because those Latin scholars never had a word like this!

Ensamble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Mary Poppins:
If you say it softly the effect can be hypnotious!

Bert:
Check your breath before you speak, in case it's halitocious!

Jane and Michael:
Yuck!

Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay
Um-diddle-iddle-iddle-um-diddle-ay

Mary Poppins (spoken):
You know, you can say it backwards, which is Suoicodilaipxecitsiligarfilacrepus!

Michael (spoken):
She may be tricky, but she's bloody good!

Mary Poppins:
So when the cat has got your tongue, there's no need for dismay!
Just summon up this word and then you've got a lot to say!

Bert:
Pick out those eighteen consonants and sixteen vowels as well,
And put them in an order which is very hard to spell...

Mary Poppins:
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-

Jane and Michael:
o-c-i-o-u-s!

Bert: Smarty pants!

Ensemble:
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s!

(faster)
S-u-p-e-r
C-a-l-i-f-
R-a-g-i-l-
I-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s!

Bert (spoken):
Here we go!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
If you say it loud enough, you'll always sound precocious,
Supercalifragilistic-

Jane and Michael:
Supercalifragilistic-

Ensemble:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Last Update: July, 20th 2025

Song Overview

Screenshot from Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious lyrics video by Gavin Lee, Laura Michelle Kelly, Melanie La Barrie, Charlotte Spencer & Harry Stott — The ensemble lets the tongue-twister fly in the “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” clip.

Song Credits

Featuring (London stage cast): Gavin Lee (Bert), Laura Michelle Kelly (Mary Poppins), Melanie La Barrie (Mrs Corry), Charlotte Spencer (Jane), Harry Stott (Michael)
Original film single voices: Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke • B-side “A Spoonful of Sugar” • First issued 1964 • Running time 2 min 03 sec
Producers (London album): George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, David Caddick
Words & Music: Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman
Album: Mary Poppins – Original London Cast (Track 10)
Release Dates: December 24 2003 (London cast) • 1964 single (film version)
Genre: West End show-tune / high-speed patter-pop
Musical & Orchestra Director: Nick Davies
Main Instruments: Tap-dancing wood blocks, piccolo, banjo, brass fanfare, tuba oom-pah, rattling snare, calliope-style keys
Label: Walt Disney Records / Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.
Language: English (with playful pseudo-Latin)
Certifications (film single): RIAA Gold (US 500 000) • BPI Silver (UK 200 000)
Copyright © 2003 Walt Disney Music Company & Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.; original 1964 recording © Disneyland Records

Song Meaning and Annotations

Gavin Lee and Laura Michelle Kelly performing song Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious — Bert leads the spit-fire spelling bee while Mary spins consonants like plates.

Need a word when your mind jams? This musical missile obliges – fifty-four syllables of linguistic mischief. “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” hurls vowels like confetti, proving that sound often outruns logic. The Sherman brothers built it for Mary Poppins’ 1910 fantasy London, yet the chant has outlasted flapper slang, rock revolutions, and TikTok trends.

On stage, Stiles and Drewe bolt a rinky-dink carnival band onto the original melody: kazoos zip, clarinets trill, and a sousaphone oompahs beneath staccato hand-claps. The tempo accelerates like a penny-farthing coasting downhill, daring singers – and anyone in the stalls – to hang on or tumble off laughing.

The word itself predates Disney. Syracuse University’s student paper printed a variant in 1931, campers in the Adirondacks swapped yet another shape in the 1930s, and a 1949 novelty 78 entitled “Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus” sparked a copyright lawsuit (Disney won, armed with sworn affidavits proving the syllabic snowball had rolled around playgrounds for decades). By the time Mary Poppins sang it, the nonsense term was already a folk meme waiting for a megaphone.

Dramatically, the number erupts just after Mary’s chalk-racing triumph. Reporters pester her for a quote, she counters with linguistic fireworks, and the scene morphs into a lesson in joyous invention. The lyric name-checks cavemen, Druids, Greeks, Romans, even wild animals – a whirlwind tour of human expression that crowns its nonsense titan.

Opening Call

“Super… calif… ragil… istic… expialid… ocious!”

Mary slices the monster into bite-sized phonemes, coaching nursery novices through a phonetic obstacle course.

Main Refrain

“Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious…”

The joke lives in the pendulum swing: the word is atrocious yet dazzling. Admitting its ridiculousness doubles the charm.

Historical Parade

“The Druids could have carved it on their mighty monoliths!”

The verse becomes a musical time machine, hinting that every civilisation secretly craved a supersized exclamation point.

Backward Trick

“Dociousaliexpilistic-fragilcalirupus!”

Mary claims you can say it backward, not spell it. The true mirror spelling – suoicodilaipxecitsiligarfilacrepus – pops up in the stage musical, while Ghostface Killah once flipped the whole meter in a rap verse.

Final Spelling Riff

“S. U. P. E. R., C. A. L. I. F…”

Call-and-response drilling turns the ensemble into a classroom choir, every letter a beat in a percussive sprint.

Similar Songs

Thumbnail from Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious lyric video by Gavin Lee and Laura Michelle Kelly — A freeze-frame of pure syllabic mayhem – jazz hands mid-air.

“Ya Got Trouble” – Robert Preston, The Music Man
Early proto-rap patter song? Absolutely. Breathless delivery whips the town square into a frenzy, mirroring Mary’s verbal cartwheels while satirising persuasive showmen.
“Seventy-Six Trombones” – Robert Preston, The Music Man
Meredith Willson doubles down on hyperbole. Where one tune piles brass, the other piles syllables, both staging a joyful parade bigger than life.
“Do-Re-Mi” – Julie Andrews, The Sound of Music
Two Andrews-led lessons: one maps the scale, the other champions verbal fantasia. Repetition, mnemonic hooks, a guiding governess – textbook earworm design.

Awards and Chart Positions

US Billboard Hot 100 – peak #66 (May 15 1965)
US Billboard Adult Contemporary – peak #14 (May 29 1965)
US Cash Box Top 100 – peak #80 (May 15 1965)
BPI Silver (UK) – 200 000 units
RIAA Gold (US) – 500 000 units
Ranked #36 on AFI’s “100 Years…100 Songs” list of top cinematic tunes (2004)

Questions and Answers

Scene from Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious track by Gavin Lee and Laura Michelle Kelly — Hands form the letters mid-air – orthography meets choreography.

Does the word have an official definition?: Only a playful one: dictionaries label it “nonsense used to express enthusiastic approval”, which is precisely the point.
How fast is the song performed?: Roughly 160–170 bpm live, though some matinees crank it higher for giggles.
Was the song ever sued for plagiarism?: Yes. A 1949 novelty track claimed priority, but Disney prevailed after proving schoolchildren had passed variants around long before either song was published.
Who arranged the London orchestration?: William David Brohn blended fairground organs with pit-band punch, giving the classic tune fresh propulsive sparkle.
Is this still the longest word sung on a West End stage?: Unofficially yes – fifty-four syllables dwarf most challengers, even if lyricists keep trying to break the record.

Fan and Media Reactions

Message boards brim with tongue-twister challenge videos – siblings duel over backward pronunciation. Social media reshaped the craze: Randy Rainbow’s 2016 parody dubbed a certain politician “super callous fragile egocentric braggadocious,” and football headline writers long ago discovered “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious.” Critics hailed the London staging that turns the spelling sequence into semaphore-style choreography; one columnist called it “a human Scrabble board exploding in real time.” Kids in the stalls still beg parents to buy dictionaries afterward… just to check if the entry is actually there.

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