The Best Time of Your Life

"The Best Time of Your Life" (often mistakenly; "Now Is The Time", the first lyric) is a song written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman in 1974 as a new theme song for Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. The attraction was being moved from Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and a replacement was sought for the original song, There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (Also by the Sherman Brothers).

"There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was reintroduced to the revamped pavilion in 1993 during Tomorrowland's transition into "The Future that Never Was". The Walt Disney Company has not used "The Best Time of Your Life" since.

History

The song was written by Richard and Robert Sherman for the "Carousel of Progress", one of four attractions Walt Disney and his Imagineers developed for the 1964 New York World's Fair. "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" premiered with the show. The attraction moved to Disneyland after the fair. In 1973, the "Carousel of Progress" closed and moved to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

The attraction was given a new show during the move, to update an increasingly outdated view of the future. General Electric, the sponsor of the Carousel of Progress, commissioned a new theme song, one to focus more on the here-and-now than tomorrow, and the Sherman Brothers penned "The Best Time Of Your Life". It was sung by Andrew Duggan, who also narrated and voiced the main character in the show. The song stayed with the show through another update in 1981, and General Electric's dropping of sponsorship in 1986.

In 1994, the Carousel was refurbished, along with the rest of Tomorrowland, to give a retrospective look at the future. In a tribute to the show's long history as part of the Disney company heritage, the attraction name was extended to "Walt Disney's" Carousel of Progress". The show was rewritten to mimic its original, non-commercial message more closely and the original song was restored.

The Sherman Brothers write in their joint autobiography regarding the history of the pavilion: :::cquote|Three years after Walt Disney World opened, the "Carousel of Progress" moved east from Disneyland to Florida, and we were invited to write a brand new theme song: "The Best Time Of Your Life". In 1996, as a special tribute to the dreams of Walt Disney the "Carousel of Progress" was "updated" back to its original show, featuring our original theme song, "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". [Sherman, Robert B., "", 1998, p 168.]

As recently as June 2008, an instrumental, techno version of "The Best Time Of Your Life" can be heard in "Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe," a quick service restaurant in The Magic Kingdom. A version can also be heard in the instrumental background music in both the Magic Kingdom's and Disneyland's Tomorrowlands, even though the song was never used in Disneyland.

Lyrics

Now is the time,
Now is the best time,
Now is the best time of your life!
Life is a prize,
Live every minute
Open your eyes and watch how you win it

Yesterday's mem'ries may sparkle and gleam,
Tomorrow is still but a dream
Right here and now,
You've got it made,
The world's forward marching and you're in the parade!

Now is the time,
Now is the best time,
Be it a time of joy or strife,
There's so much to cheer for,
Be glad you're here for it's the best time of your life!

References