"This World Is Something New To Me"

This film features a musical scene with vocals by Beck, Lisa Loeb, Jakob Dylan (son of Bob Dylan), Dawn Robinson (of En Vogue), Lou Rawls, Iggy Pop, Phife (from A Tribe Called Quest), Laurie Anderson, B-Real (from Cypress Hill), Lenny Kravitz, Patti Smith, Gordon Gano (from Violent Femmes) and, from the B-52s, Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider and Cindy Wilson. They will be singing a special number entitled "This World Is Something New To Me"(originally to have been titled "This World Is Something Strange To Me"), where the artists will be newborn babies themselves. This group was brought together by the man who does the Rugrats music on TV, Mark Mothersbaugh, who will also be providing an 11-track soundtrack for the film, as well as writing "This World...".

The K-C book (p.110-111) includes complete lyrics to this song, plus the pictures of the newborns with their lines and the stars that are singing them.

Also, in a true sense of "We Are The World", all artist royalties will go to charity, with the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the American Liver Foundation and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation as recipients.

Important Note:

This number is among other items that have been omitted in some foreign releases, for reasons unknown. I don't know how many countries have shown the film without this number, though Spain is one of them. However, the Spanish version of the US / Canada Rugrats Movie video has the number (the film is unedited). Go figure.

Also, the French version of the film had the song translated into French; even though the music and the segment is still there, the top Anglophone rock artists were replaced by unknown Francophone voice artists. To see the French lyrics, and the literal English translation, click here.

Who Sung What

Here is the "crib sheet" (pun intended; it came with the article) to the song, identifying which artist sung what line(s). On the video, this number takes place about 23 minutes into the video:

(This World Is Something New To Me is written by Mark Mothersbaugh; Published by Ensign Music Corporation / Mutato Muzika, Inc. / Music by Nickelodeon, Inc. (Mutato & Nick administrated by Ensign)(BMI); ©1998 Interscope Records. Used without permission. Source: Music Stars Play Kids, an article distributed by Knight-Ridder Newspapers; published in The Toronto Star, 11/20/98. Special thanks to Matt Hawthorne.)

(Number begins as babies cry and Chuckie steps on one of the light switches on the floor.)

Lisa Loeb: Where am I?

B Real: How did I get here?

Patti Smith: Today is very different than yesterday.

Lou Rawls: So this is the world?

Laurie Anderson: I miss my old womb.

Gordon Gano: The wallpaper here just ain't the same.

Fred Schneider: This word is something strange.

Loeb: I'm wet,

Phife: I'm cold,

Lenny Kravitz: (waggles diaper) I need a change,

All: (tosses blankets in air) This world is something new to me.

Phife: (on one monitor) Oh, my head! What is this? I can't take it!

Dawn Robinson: (on an adjacent monitor) Me either!

(Robotic camera zooms in on next baby)

Beck: I'm hungry,

Rawls: I'm tired,

Jakob Dylan: (pounds crib floor to make pacifier bounce) I'm irritated.

Rawls: But I love the extra leg room.

Smith: (Points to her bellybutton) Man! They cut my cord!

Iggy Pop: (Looks in his diaper to see, uh, something Jewish boys get, usually at birth) Consider yourself lucky!

Dylan: This world is way too big.

Pop: (baby points at Chuckie) And populated by fuzzy pigs.

All: This world is something new to me.

Schneider: This world is such a gas. (passes gas)

Kate Pierson & Cindy Wilson: P.U., where's your class?

All: This world is something new to me.

(Two baby carriers collide with each other as the Rugrats push them around)

Beck: (shouts) Quiet! can't a guy get some shuteye?

Smith: (shouts) It's so noisy in here.

Pop: (shouts) I can barely hear myself suck.

(baby grabs bottle from Chuckie)

Dylan: The food here tastes pretty good,

Phife: My compliments to the chef.

Robinson: And you gotta holler to get fed.

Rawls: But I could get used to that.

(babies cry; Chuckie falls on floor onto a light switch)

Loeb: This world is way too bright,

Beck: Can't somebody turn down the light?

Beck: (as another baby; looks inside diaper) So that's what that thing looks like.

Dylan: All things here are meant for play,

(throws pacifier; robotic camera follows it)

Schneider: It's gonna be a real cool day.

All: This world is something new to me.

(Newborns pee in the air to make a fountain, while unidentified babies sing: "da-de-da-da-da", etc.; one of the female babies say "Real cool", while another one says "Look!")

All: (as rainbow forms) This world is something new to me.

(robotic camera retracts and monitor shuts off as number ends)

Note: According to the sheet music in Hal Leonard's Rugrats Movie music book, one of the newborns were supposed to say "This is crazy" after the final line; evidently, it was not used in the film. Also, according to that source, during the fountain scene, "Real cool" was not ad-libbed, but "Look" was.