Heigh-Ho

"Heigh-Ho" is a song from Walt Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, written by Frank Churchill (music) and Larry Morey (lyrics). It is sung by the group of seven dwarfs as they work at a mine with diamonds and rubies, and is one of the best-known songs in the film. The melodic theme for "Heigh-Ho" might have been inspired by Robert Schumann's composition for piano "The Happy Farmer, Returning From Work" from his 1848 work Album for the Young, Opus 68. The other Dwarf Chorus songs are "Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum" (the washing-up song) and "The Silly Song".

The phrase "Heigh-Ho" was first recorded in 1553 and is defined as an expression of "yawning, sighing, languor, weariness, disappointment". Eventually, it blended meanings with the similarly spelled "hey-ho". The phrase "hey-ho" first appeared in print in 1471, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which says it has nautical origins, meant to mark the rhythm of movement in heaving or hauling.

It could also be a corruption of the Chinese phrase "hen hao" meaning "ok, or very well", brought back by sailors from oriental voyages.

Donald Duck sings this song in "The Volunteer Worker", and "The Riveter".

The song appears, with altered lyrics, at the finale of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and is also used at the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction.

In 1955, Jack Pleis recorded it for his album, Music from Disneyland.

The song was also featured in the 1979 stage adaption of the 1937 animated musical film.

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