Friends of the Working Mouse is a villain song sung by Mr. Grasping, Mr. Toplofty, and Mr. O'Bloat in An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island. They sing it after coming up with an evil plan to get their factory workers on their side by giving them a common enemy; the Lenape Mice. They hope that this plan will result in their workers becoming more loyal, and that they won't complain when they force the workers to increase their output without getting a raise in pay. Meanwhile, Chief McBrusque and Scuttlebutt look on in slight bewilderment as their bosses sing and dance.
The song was written by William Anderson and performed by Ron Perlman, Tony Jay, and Richard Karron.
Lyrics[]
Mr. Grasping: My colleagues, gather round, please
Since you and I all know
That if our mice keep working,
Our profit's sure to grow!
Mr. O'Bloat: I really like to see them sweat
It makes me calm and cool
Mr. Toplofty And while they're grateful for the pay,
We're thankful playing pool
ALL: Friends of the working mouse!
Grasping: We're such a happy family
Our workers are the best!
O'Bloat: And while they put in overtime
We'll just take a little rest!
Toplofty: We've got it all together now
We're in for the long haul
Grasping: So a toast to them, let's give a cheer
While they are slaving for us all
ALL: Friends of the working mouse!
Friends of the working mouse!
O'Bloat: (spoken) Oh yeah, we're, like, friends of you workin' mices and stuff.
Grasping: We know
They want to make a show
Of their aspirations
So come on
We can help, you know
Meet their expectations
ALL: Hey, ho!
The only limit is our imagination
Heave ho!
It's off to work they go
It's their true salvation
Maybe...
O'Bloat: We really love to see them here each and every day
Grasping: So even when they need time off, we do insist they stay
Toplofty: With their noses to the grindstone since they want to keep their jobs
O'Bloat: We keep 'em workin sharp, our mice, while we just act like slobs
Grasping: Yes, we will rightly steer them on a sure and steady course!
Toplofty: We're only here to help them down our chosen path, of course! You see, we're
ALL: Friends of the working mouse!
O'Bloat: Trust us!
ALL: Friends of the working mouse!
Friends of the working mouse!
Trivia[]
- The verse "Heave ho, it's off to work they go" is a reference to the musical number Heigh-Ho from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- This song is linked to controversy, involving Worker's Rights and racism.