From the 1908 comic opera “Little Nemo”.
Words by Harry B. Smith.
Music by Victor Herbert.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- There’s a land of childhood fancies
That is filled with old romances
‘Tis a realm of fairy tale and jingling rhyme
And the children of all ages
From the babies to the sages
Love that happy land of Once upon a Time
Of those fascinating stories
I remember best the glories
Of sweet Cinderella dancing at the ball
There was Jack who killed the Giant
So heroic and defiant
And Riding Hood, I loved her best of all
Chorus
Dear old friend of the golden days
Comrades in all my games and plays
Life was like a holiday
The world was in its prime
In the happy land of Once up a Time
- You’ll remember well forever
Puss in Boots he was so clever
How I’d like to have a cat as smart as he
There was little Goody Two Shoes
With her pretty pair of new shoes
Was there ever any girl as proud as she?
The Brownies quaint and funny
With their faces bright and sunny
They were like a jolly Christmas pantomime
And Boy Blue and sly Miss Muffett
Who would sit upon a “tuffet”
In that happy land of once upon a time
Sung here by Vancha March: