Yesterday I happened to say "my work here is done". It is a phrase that I always knew was not my own, but I use it from time to time. Really a lot of things people say are variations on quotations from film and literature. Still I decided this one was worth looking up.

FIRST I found Noël Godin, the guy famous for ambushing Bill Gates in 1998 who then said "my work here is done", but I knew he was too recent.

SECOND I also found references to "The Simpsons", including "Marge Vs. The Monorail", after the monorail crisis is resolved:
Leonard Nimoy: Well, my work here is done.
Barney: Whaddaya mean, 'your work is done'? You didn't do anything.
Leonard Nimoy: [Chuckles knowingly] Didn't I?

THIRD I also found Mel Brook's 1974 movie, "Blazing Saddles":
Sheriff Bart: My work here is done. I'm needed elsewhere now. I'm needed wherever outlaws rule the west. Wherever innocent women and children are afraid to walk the streets. Wherever a man cannot live in simple dignity, and wherever a people cry out for justice.
Townspeople: Bullshit!

But even that seemed to recent.

FOURTH, digging deeper, I found the 1932 suicide note of the man who made my hometown of Rochester, NY what it is, George Eastman founder Eastman Kodak:
"My work is done. Why wait?"

(I should add that George had his reasons… "In his final two years, Eastman was in intense pain, caused by a degenerative disorder affecting his spine. He had trouble standing and his walking became a slow shuffle. Today it might be diagnosed as spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal caused by calcification in the vertebrae. Eastman grew depressed, as he had seen his mother spend the last two years of her life in a wheelchair from the same condition.")

Poor George. Still those words are missing the word "here", so I kept looking…

FIFTH (maybe), I also came across many people saying it was Mary Poppins, but after reviewing the end of the movie several times, I heard no such words!

But I did get "Let's Go Fly A Kite" by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (AKA the Sherman Brothers) stuck in my head.

…and this is why the projects in my house are never going to get done. Damn you Internet and your trial information goodness.

PS: I still don't know for sure who said it or wrote "my work here is done" first. If you do, let me know. In the mean time I'm going to see if I can get my hands on the original "Mary Poppins" books by P.L. Travers. There are about 8 of them, first one written in 1934. And I also want to see if I can get a full length copy of the Walt Disney film. Obsessed a little? Perhaps.

PPS: If I find the answer I'll let you know here!

PPPS: Procrastination is fun!

PPPPS: I want to get a kite now and fly it too! I've got tuppence!

PPPPPS: Here is the ending to the film where the song is sung:

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest the music genres:

• Children
• Disney
• Musical

Click here for more info on Sherman Brothers – Mary Poppins Soundtrack – "Let's Go Fly A Kite".

The MP3 may be purchased here…

Sherman Brothers - Mary Poppins Soundtrack