"The Bare Necessities" is a song, written by Terry Gilkyson and is from the animated 1967 Disney film, "The Jungle Book". It is performed by Phil Harris as Baloo and Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli.
Originally, it was written for an earlier draft of the movie that was never produced, however, The Sherman Brothers, who wrote the other songs for the film, kept this song as it was catchy and flowed with the film and would be the only song used from the previous version. Van Dyke Parks is best known for his collaborations with musician Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
A reprise of the song was sung by Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera and Phil Harris as Baloo at the end of the film. Van Dyke Parks worked on the arrangement, which was his first paid gig after moving to California. The song was also sung by Louis Armstrong. In 1967, "The Bare Necessities" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
**Lyrics**
Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life
Wherever I wander, wherever I roam
I couldn't be fonder of my big home
The bees are buzzin' in the tree
To make some honey just for me
When you look under the rocks and plants
And take a glance at the fancy ants
Then maybe try a few
The bare necessities of life will come to you
They'll come to you!
Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
That's why a bear can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life
Now when you pick a pawpaw
Or a prickly pear
And you prick a raw paw
Next time beware
Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw
When you pick a pear
Try to use the claw
But you don't need to use the claw
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw
Have I given you a clue ?
The bare necessities of life will come to you
They'll come to you!