"Trust in Me " is a song in the widely popular Walt Disney film, The Jungle Book, from 1967. The song was sung by Sterling Holloway playing the part of "Kaa, the snake". The song was written by Disney staff songwriters, Robert and Richard Sherman. In the song, Kaa quickly hypnotizes Mowgli into a calm, soothing, relaxing trance, sending Mowgli walking along his body until he finally coils himself around Mowgli just like he did before. As the song concludes, Kaa readies himself to devour the boy, only to be stopped by Shere Khan the tiger in his search for Mowgli.
Composition
The Shermans were brought onto the film by Walt Disney due to Disney's feeling that the interpretation was keeping too true to the Rudyard Kipling book. In a deliberate effort to keep the score "light", this song as well as the Sherman Brothers' other contributions generally concern darker subject matter than the accompanying music would suggest. "Trust in Me" originated from Disney's suggestion to add a song to Kaa's sequence, and was written by Shermans based on "The Land of Sand", a song they had composed for 1964's Mary Poppins but ended up not being used. Kaa speaks and sings with a subtle, lilting lisp giving the song a humorous dimension that it would not otherwise have.
Cover versions
One of the least traditional uses of a Disney song has been the 1987 Siouxsie and the Banshees cover of "Trust in Me". It first appeared on their LP, Through the Looking Glass. Sounds praised it as "quite astonishing. Whereas once it was about a python getting ready to crush a little boy to death, now it's a harp-laden lullaby of rampant, swirling eroticism".
The 90's American alternative rock bandBelly covered "Trust In Me" on their 1993 12" EP album "Feed The Tree" featured as track 2.
The Holly Cole Trio covered "Trust in Me" on the 1991 release Blame It on My Youth.
In the pilot episode of Jungle Cubs- a prequel to the Disney film looking at the animals' lives when they were childhood friends- as Baloo sings about how the animals should enjoy their childhood, Kaa references this song when he starts to hypnotise Louie, as he sings "I'll learn to use these baby blues, Just put your trust in me".
The Dead Brothers made their version of "Trust in Me" in a very dark, psychedelic and bluesy style. This cover appears on their fourth album Wunderkammer.
Susheela Raman covered "Trust in Me" on her debut album, "Salt Rain" in 2001.
In an episode of Not Going Out, Daisy tells Lee that Lucy is falling under the spell of her old boyfriend Scott, like Kaa hypnotizing Mowgli. She imitates Kaa singing "Trust in me", though Lee thinks she's acting like Hannibal Lecter.
