The Disney Song Encyclopedia - fieldi

“A PIRATE’S LIFE (FOR ME)” 159
hol is accidentally dumped into the water trough and the young elephant
Dumbo drinks it, he has bizarre visions of pink elephants as they pass in
parade, defying physics by changing shape and color. A studio chorus sings
the hypnotic march on the soundtrack as the visuals go berserk, creating
one of the most surreal scenes in Disney film animation. The sequence is
animated in the style of artist Salvador Dali, and the pounding song becomes
menacing as the images pile up on the screen. Barbara Cook made
a farcical recording of the odd but engrossing song.
“The Pink of Perfection” is the sarcastic number about a girl who thinks
she is perfect, sung by Maine resident Nancy Carey (Hayley Mills) and her
brother Gilly (Eddie Hodges) in the film Summer Magic (1963). Richard M.
and Robert B. Sherman wrote the risible number, and the Carey siblings sing
it when they learn that their snobby cousin Julia is coming to live with them.
“The Pioneer Song” is the rousing choral number sung by optimistic settlers
in the “Johnny Appleseed” section of the animated anthology movie
Melody Time (1948). Kim Gannon and Walter Kent wrote the rugged song
about getting in a wagon and joining the pioneers in striking out for new
land in the West. Johnny (voice of Dennis Day) hears the song but realizes
he is too scrawny and weak to be a pioneer.
“Pioneer’s Prayer” is the solemn hymn by Paul J. Smith that is used during
a somber moment in the adventure movie Westward Ho the Wagons!
(1956). After a youth from their party is kidnapped by the Pawnee tribe,
the members of the wagon train on the Oregon Trail sing this prayer asking
God to shine His light down on the prairie and give them strength to face
all adversity. Smith originally composed the melody for the film documentary
The Vanishing Prairie (1954) and it was heard as part of his soundtrack
score. He added the reverent lyric for the pioneer feature movie.
“The Pirate Song” is the friendly song of comradeship that Frank
Churchill (music) and Ray Kelly (lyric) wrote for the animated movie Peter
Pan (1953), but it was replaced by “The Elegant Captain Hook.” The pirates
sing the number to the captured Lost Boys, hoping to get them to join
the buccaneer crew by pointing out all the assets (no bedtime, no work, no
washing) of being a pirate.
“A Pirate’s Life (for Me)” is the rugged sea chantey Oliver Wallace (music)
and Erdman Penner (lyric) wrote for the animated fantasy film Peter