Cast of 'Mary Poppins Returns' - A Cover Is Not the Book

Uncle Gutenberg was a bookworm
And he lived on Charing Cross
The memory of his volumes brings a smile
He would read me lots of stories
When he wasn’t on the sauce
Now I’d like to share the wisdom
Of my favorite bibliophile

He said:
A cover is not the book so open it up and take a look
Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook
Chapter titles are like signs
And if you read between the lines
You’ll find your first impression was mistook
For a cover is nice but a cover is not the book

Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ra-ta-ta-ta!
Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ra-ta-ta-ta!

- Mary Poppins, could you give us an example?
- Certainly.

Nellie Rubina was made of wood but what could not be seen
Was though her trunk up top was barren
Well, her roots were lush and green
So, in spring when Mr. Hick'ry
Saw her blossoms bloomin’ there
He took root despite her bark
And now there’s seedlings everywhere

Which proves a cover is not the book so open it up and take a look
Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook
Chapter titles are like signs
And if you read between the lines
You’ll find your first impression was mistook
For a cover is nice but a cover is not the book

- Shall we do the one about the wealthy widow?
- Oh, by all means.
- Always loved that one.
- Oh, go on, then.

Lady Hyacinth Macaw
Brought all her treasures to a reef
Where she only wore a smile
Plus two feathers and a leaf
So no one tried to rob her 'cause she barely wore a stitch
For when you’re in your birthday suit
There ain’t much there to show you’re rich

Oh, a cover is not the book so open it up and take a look
Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook
Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ru-ra-la! Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ra-ta-ta!
You’ll find your first impression was mistook, ya-da-da-da!
For a cover is nice but a cover is not the book

- Give us the one about the dirty rascal, why don’t you?
- Isn’t that one a bit long?
- Well, the quicker you’re into it, the quicker you’re out of it.

Once upon a time in a nursery rhyme
There was a castle with a king hiding in a wing
Cause he never went to school to learn a single thing
He had scepters and swords and a parliament of lords
But on the inside he was sad, egad
Because he never had a wisdom for numbers, a wisdom for words
Though his crown was quite immense
His brain was smaller than a bird’s
So the queen of the nation made a royal proclamation
“To the missus and the messers, the more or lessers
Bring me all the land’s professors”
Then she went to the hairdressers
And they came from the east and they came from the south
From each college they poured knowledge
From their brains into his mouth
But the king couldn’t learn, so each professor met their fate
For the queen had their heads removed and placed upon the gate
And on that date I state
Their wives all got a note their mate was now the late great
But then suddenly one day a stranger started in to sing
He said “I’m the dirty rascal and I’m here to teach the king”
And the queen clutched her jewels, for she hated royal fools
But this fool had some rules they really ought to teach in schools
Like you’ll be a happy king if you enjoy the things you’ve got
You should never try to be the kind of person that you’re not
So they sang and they laughed, for the king had found a friend
And they ran onto a rainbow for the story’s perfect end
So, the moral is you mustn’t let the outside be the guide
For it’s not so cut and dried
Well, unless it’s Dr. Jekyll, then you better hide Petrified
No, the truth can’t be denied as I now have testified
All that really counts and matters is the special stuff inside

[cheering]
- He did it!

Oh, a cover is not the book so open it up and take a look
Cause under the covers one discovers that the king may be a crook

So, please listen to what we’ve said
And open a book tonight in bed
So one more time, before we get the hook
Sing it out strong!

A cover is nice
Please take our advice
A cover is nice
Or you’ll pay the price
A cover is nice but a cover is not the book

Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ru-ra!
Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ru-ra!
Ta-ru-ra-lee ta-ru-ra, la-la-la!