Day 16: Pinocchio: I've Got No Strings

 

I've Got No Strings

Sung By: Dickie Jones as Pinocchio, and Patricia Page, Mae Questel and Mel Blanc as The Dutch, French and Russian Puppets

Composed By: Leigh Harline

Lyrics By: Ned Washington 

This song comes to us when Pinocchio decides to join Stromboli in his Marionette show instead of going to school.  

It's a very simple song that kids can learn. Yet if you really think about the lyrics, it's a little bit deeper than it appears. Pinocchio sings of the strings that used to be attached to him and the freedom he has from not having them anymore. The marionettes still have their strings and sing of a longing to have that kind of freedom. The Dutch marionette wants Pinocchio to woo her and stay with her. The French marionette loves how he speaks and wants to cut her strings for him. The Russian marionette already has a marionette friend but wants to go with Pinocchio instead.

Strings. The strings Pinocchio sings of are physical. I don't think the little marionette realized he was also speaking of a metaphor for the things that tie you down for whatever reason. The strings could be something like having a job or going to school or having whatever obligations that life gives you. The strings could also be more deeper such as your personal beliefs or your views on life. It may sound like a bit of a stretch, but it shapes how you react to things or do things. Let's say you have a bunch of friends that want to go do something, but you don't feel comfortable doing it. That discomfort is a string that prevents you from joining your friends. It may be well found it because your friends may be doing something they are not supposed to or they may be doing something you don't like. It may also be not well founded like an irrational fear preventing you from joining in. Either way that would be a string that's pulling you back.  

Pinocchio had at one point both types of strings: the physical kind that marionettes have so the puppet Master can manipulate their joints and the metaphorical kind that sometimes caused him internal conflict. Through his naivety in the song, it shows us that the less you're tied down the more carefree you are. It also shows us that there will always be others who are jealous of those who aren't tied down with things or strings. Another thing it shows us is that there will always be others who will try to pursue those with no strings so to speak so that they too may live the same life. The last thing it shows is that no matter what even if you live a "no strings attached" life there will always be some sort of strings attached to you whether by accident or intentional.

So until next time, always remember to live your life to the fullest and Keep Cooking with Character!