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

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. Hickory 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

Should we do the one about the wealthy widow?

Oh, by all means.

I always loved that one

Well, go on then.

Lady Hyacinth McCall 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

Taroo-ra-li taroo-ra-la, taroo-ra-li tara-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

Oh, give us the one about the Dirty Rascal, why don't ya?

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 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 kind of 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 musn'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

Now the truth can't be denied

As I know I've testified

All that really counts and matters is the special stuff inside

(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!

Taroo-ra-li taroo-ra-la, taroo-ra-li taroo-ra-la, taroo-ra-li taroo-ra-la, la, la!

• Artist:Mary Poppins Returns (OST)
• Album:Mary Poppins Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2018)