"A Cover is Not the Book" is a song sung by Mary Poppins and Jack in the film Mary Poppins Returns. It is sung when Mary Poppins and Jack perform onstage with the animated animal characters in a musical number while the children Georgie, Annabel, and John watch their performance, alongside an all-animal audience.
Lyrics[]
Mary Poppins:
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!
Audience:
Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ra-ta-ta-ta!
Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ra-ta-ta-ta!
Penguin:
Mary Poppins, could you give us an example?
Mary Poppins:
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!
Mary Poppins and Jack:
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
Jack:
Chapter titles are like signs
Mary Poppins:
And if you read between the lines
Mary Poppins and Jack:
You'll find your first impression was mistook
For a cover is nice, but a cover is not the book!
Jack:
Should we do the one about the wealthy widow?
Mary Poppins:
By all means!
Jack:
Always loved that one!
Mary Poppins:
Oh, go on then.
Jack:
Lady Hyacinth Macaw
Brought all her treasures to a reef
Mary Poppins:
Where she only wore a smile
Jack:
Plus two feathers and a leaf
Mary Poppins:
So no one tried to rob her
'Cause she barely wore a stitch
Jack:
For when you're in your birthday suit
Mary Poppins and Jack:
There ain't much there to show you're rich
All:
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!
Mary Poppins and Jack:
You'll find your first impression was mistook
Ya-da-da-da
For a cover is nice, but a cover is not the book!
Mary Poppins:
Oh, give us the one about the Dirty Rascal, why don't ya?
Jack:
Isn't that one a bit long?
Mary Poppins:
Well, the quicker you're into it, the quicker you're out of it.
Jack:
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 sceptres 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 Misses and the Messrs
The More-or-Lessers
Bring me all the land's professors
Then she went to the hairdresser's
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 finer person that you're not
So they sang and they laughed,
For the king had found a friend
And they ran on to 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'd better hide, petrified!
No, the truth can't be denied
As I know I've testified
All that really counts and matters
Is the special stuff inside
Audience:
Hooray! He did it!
All:
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
Mary Poppins:
So please listen to what we've said
Jack:
And open a book tonight in bed
Mary Poppins and Jack:
So one more time
Before we get the hook
Jack:
Sing it out strong!
Audience:
A cover is nice
Mary Poppins:
Please take our advice
Audience:
A cover is nice
Jack:
Or you'll pay the price!
Audience:
A cover is nice
All:
But a cover is not the book!
Audience:
Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la-la
Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la-la
Ta-ru-ra-lee, ta-ru-ra-la-la, la, la!
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- All characters and scenarios mentioned in the song come from the books P.L Travers wrote.
- Mary Poppins sings the first verse in her Queen's English accent, then the rest of it in a cockney accent. It is the only time in either film that she uses a different accent.
