Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles
A Man Has Dreams / Spoonful of Sugar (Reprise)
[MR. BANKS, spoken]
I used to dream that when I grew up, I'd learn everything there was to know about the stars. It's funny - I haven't thought about all that in years. I'm not usually sentimental

[BERT]
Ah, it's good to look back sometimes

[MR. BANKS]
Is it? I'm not so sure

(sung)
A man has dreams
Of working with giants
To carve his niche
In the edifice of time
Before the mortar of his seal
Has a chance to congeal

The cup is dashed from his lips
The flame is snuffed aborning
He's brought to wrack and ruin in his prime

[BERT, spoken]
Life's a rum go guv'nor, and that's the truth

[MR. BANKS]
Do you know what I think? It's Mary Poppins - from the moment she stepped into this house, things began to happen to me
[BERT]
Mary Poppins, eh?

[MR. BANKS]
Yes, yes of course!

(sung)
My world was calm
Well-watered, exemplary
Then came this person
With chaos in her wake

And now my life's ambitions go
In one fell blow
It's quite a bitter pill to take

(spoken)
It's that Poppins woman she's responsible for all this

[BERT]
I know the very person - what's that thing she's always saying?

(sung)
A spoonful of sugar that is all it takes
It changes the bread and water into -
Tea and cakes
[MR. BANKS]
There, you see, that's exactly what I mean! Changing bread and water into tea and cakes, indeed. No wonder everything's coming unstrung around here

[BERT, sung]
A spoonful of sugar goes a long, long, way
So have yourself a healthy helping everyday

[MR. BANKS, spoken]
A healthy helping of trouble, if you ask me

[BERT]
Like you say, guv'nor

(sung)
You've got to grind, grind, grind in that grindstone
Though childhood slips
Like sand through a sieve
And all too soon
They've up and grown
And then they've flown
And it's too late for you to give

Just that spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down
The medicine go down
The medicine go down
(spoken)
Well, good luck guv'nor

[MR. BANKS]
Thank you - Bert - and good luck to you too