Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Like You (December 24th 2015)

Today's Song of the Day is one that you should all be familiar with. If not, you need to learn the bare necessities. Pronto.

'I Wanna Be Like You' was one of the stand-out tunes of the wonderfully energetic Disney film, The Jungle Book. Sung and danced by King Louie (voiced by Louis Prima) and his band of baudaciously jazzy monkey underlings, as well as Baloo in disguise, the song featured alongside other classics such as 'the Bare Necessities' and 'That's What Friends Are For'.

The Jungle Book was originally released in 1967 (I had to check this figure many times, as I couldn't believe it was actually that old), but is still rated #31 out of the top 100 Disney films according to Disney Movies Guide, and I would strongly suggest that its lasting appeal is due, as in most Disney films, to the absolute ear worms that the thing will have you singing for a good week or two after watching (at the very least).

'I Wanna Be Like You' was originally intended to be sung by Louis Armstrong, and the song definitely has an Armstrong-esque vibe to it, bringing the world of jazz to a youthful audience, featuring trumpet solos, double bass twanging, and episodes of scat singing between the self-proclaimed king of the swingers and the under-cover bear, Baloo. Mowgli is being pestered by the king to reveal the promethean power of man; the ability to create fire, believing this will transform him from an orangutan into a human... your move evolutionists.

You can listen to the original song on YouTube below, as well as the awesome version sung by Paolo Nutini at Glastonbury in 2007:

Lyrics:

Now I'm the king of the swingers, the jungle V.I.P 
I reached the top and had to stop 
And that's what bothering me 
I want to be a man, man-cub, and stroll right into town 
And be just like those other men 
I'm tired of monkeying around 
Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I'll make a deal with you 
What I desire is man's red fire to make my dreams come true 
So give me the secret, man-cub, clue me what to do 
Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you 

Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you 
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too 
You see it's true, an ape like me 
Can learn to be like you, too 

Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I made a deal with you 
What I desire is man's red fire to make my dream's come true 
So give me the secret, man-cub, clue me what to do 
Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you 

Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you 
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too 
You see it's true, an ape like me 
Can learn to be like you, too 

Break it down boys, break it down boys, break it down 
Break it down boys, break it down boys, break it down 

Now I'm the king of the swingers, the jungle V.I.P. 
I reached the top and had to stop 
And that's what bothering me 
I want to be a man, man-cub, and stroll right into town 
And be just like those other men 
I'm tired of monkeying around 

Ooh-bi-doo, I wan'na be like you 
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too 
You see it's true, an ape like me 
Can learn to be like you, too 

Can learn to be someone like me