| "Something Wonderful" | |
|---|---|
| Song from The King and I | |
| Published | 1951 |
| Writer | Oscar Hammerstein II |
| Composer | Richard Rodgers |
"Something Wonderful" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I.
The song was first sung in the original Broadway production by Dorothy Sarnoff, who played Lady Thiang. Later, in the 1956 film adaptation starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner it was sung by Terry Saunders as Lady Thiang. Terry Saunders was the stage name for Terry Termini, a young woman who got her start out of the Brooklyn, New York area.
In the show, Lady Thiang, the King's head wife, sings this song to Anna Leonowens to persuade her to accept the King for what he is, despite his faults. In a sense, these lyrics have echoes of the song "What's the Use of Wond'rin'" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, which also deal with the issue of women standing by their husbands despite all their faults. Musically, the heavy chords that punctuate the accompaniment bear some pre-echoes of the song Climb Ev'ry Mountain from The Sound of Music. This is notable because both these songs are inspirational songs sung by the earth-mother characters, who have similar singing voices. Both songs are also the last songs heard in their respective shows, even though Something Wonderful is played as an instrumental rendition to underscore the final scene of the King at his deathbed.