The song was first introduced by Mary Martin and Patricia
Neway in the original Broadway production and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965
film. In the musical, the lyrics to the song are a reference to things Maria
loves, such as 'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper
kettles and warm woolen mittens'. These are the things she selects to fill her
mind with when times are bad. The original Broadway musical places this song in
the Mother Abbess's office, just before she sends Maria to serve Captain von
Trapp's family as governess to his seven children. However, Ernest Lehman, the
screenwriter for the film adaptation, repositioned this song so that Maria
would sing it with the children during the thunderstorm scene in her bedroom,
replacing "The Lonely Goatherd", which had originally been sung at
this point.
Many stage productions also make this change, shifting
"The Lonely Goatherd" to another scene. The first section of the
melody has the distinctive property of using only the notes 1, 2, and 5 of the
scale. Rodgers then harmonized this same section of the melody differently in
different stanzas, using a series of minor triads one time and major triads the
next. This song has 16 bars of D minor 7, followed by eight bars of E b minor 7
and another eight of D minor 7. It also has an AABA structure.
The song's main melody seems derivative of Edvard Grieg's In
the Hall of the Mountain King, particularly in its repetitive simplicity and
its minor key. The happy, optimistic lyrics "Cream colored ponies and
crisp apple strudel" are just a counterpoint and cover up an undercurrent
of fear. As noted above, the song was written to be sung by a young woman
scared of facing new responsibilities outside the convent. In the film script
the song is repositioned, with Maria singing it to the von Trapp children
during the thunderstorm; but the terror contained in the melody is still the
dominant emotion.
