’Kiss The Girl’s New Lyrics Have A Subtle Change In The Live-Action Little Mermaid
Sha-la-la. If you’re a big Disney fan, you might have noticed the ever-so-slight change in the “Kiss The Girl” lyrics in the live-action Little Mermaid.
The 2023 live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 classic The Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey as the curious mermaid Ariel and features an onslaught of all-stars like Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs, Javier Bardem and Jacob Tremblay.
Bailey told Variety about the importance of having representation on the big screen as the first Black live-action Disney princess. “I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know that they’re special, and that they should be a princess in every single way,” Bailey says. “There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be. That reassurance was something that I needed.”
More than 30 years later, the lyrics for a beloved song had a tiny change. What were the changes to the “Kiss The Girl” lyrics, you may ask?
What are the changes to the ‘Kiss The Girl’ lyrics?
What are the changes to the “Kiss The Girl” lyrics? There are a couple of changes within The Little Mermaid songs from the original 1989 version. In “Kiss The Girl” particularly, the second verse changed from:
“Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she want you too, there is one way to ask her
It don’t take a word, not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl”
To the new version:
“Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she want you too
Use your words, boy, and ask her
If the time is right and the time is tonight
Go on and kiss the girl”
In the scene, Ariel needs a true love’s kiss in order to gain her voice back from the evil sea witch Ursula. Without her voice, she can’t reveal that she’s the one that saved Prince Eric and the woman he fell in love with. Her sea friends Sebastian (played by Daveed Diggs), Scuttle (played by Awkwafina) and Flounder (played by Jacob Tremblay) all help set the right mood for Ariel and Eric to break the curse.
Original songwriter and Disney Legend Alan Menken explained the changes to Vanity Fair. “There are some lyric changes in “Kiss the Girl” because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel].”
Director Rob Marshall talked about the cultural changes as well in the new movie. “We asked Lin-Manuel [Miranda] to make some slight adjustments to the original lyrics for ‘Kiss the Girl,’ because it’s important to remember that the culture and sensitivities have changed over the last 34 years, and it’s vital that we are respectful to those changes.”
Kiss The Girl lyrics
Here are the lyrics to “Kiss The Girl” via Genius.
[Intro: SEBASTIAN, SCUTTLE, FLOUNDER]
Percussion
Strings
Winds
Words
[Verse 1: SEBASTIAN]
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don’t got a lot to say
But there’s somet’ing about her
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl
[Verse 2: SEBASTIAN]
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she want you too
Use your words, boy, and ask her
If the time is right and the time is tonight
Go on and kiss the girl
[Chorus: ALL, SCUTTLE, SEBASTIAN]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, my, oh, my
Look like the boy too shy
Ain’t gonna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, ain’t that sad?
Ain’t it a shame? Too bad
He gonna miss the girl
Hey, pull it back, Scuttle, pull it back!
[Verse 3: SEBASTIAN, FLOUNDER & SCUTTLE, ALL]
Now’s your moment (Ooh)
Floatin’ in a blue lagoon (Ooh)
Boy, you better do it soon
No time will be better
She don’t say a word
And she won’t say a word until ya
Kiss the girl (Kiss the girl, kiss the girl)
[Chorus: ALL, SEBASTIAN, FLOUNDER & SCUTTLE, SCUTTLE]
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don’t be scared (Sha-la-la-la-la-la)
You got the mood prepared (Sha-la-la-la-la-la)
Go on and kiss the girl (Woah, woah)
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don’t stop now (Sha-la-la-la-la-la)
Don’t try to hide it (Sha-la)
How you wanna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, float along (Sha-la-la-la-la-la)
And listen to the song (Sha-la)
The song say, “Kiss the girl”
Sha-la-la-la-la-la, the music play (Sha-la)
Do what the music say
You got to kiss the girl
[Outro: SEBASTIAN, ALL, FLOUNDER, SCUTTLE]
You’ve gotta kiss the girl
Why don’t you kiss the girl
C’mon and kiss the girl
Go on and kiss the girl
