General Electric's Carousel of Progress
Intro, Scenes 1 & 2
-Courtesy of the Bertino Archives-

[Father]

Welcome to the General Electric Carousel of Progress.  Now most carousels

just go 'round and 'round without getting anywhere.  But on this one, at

every turn we'll be making progress.  And progress is not just moving ahead.

It's dreaming and working and building a better way of life.  Progress is

the sound of a motor, the hum of a turbine, the heartbeat of a factory, the

sound of a symphony, the roar of a rocket.  Progress is people getting

release from drudgery, gaining more time to enjoy themselves and live

richer lives.  And as long as man dreams and works and builds, this

progress will go on...in your life and mine. 

[Theme Song/Carousel Turn to Next Scene]

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of every day

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

And tomorrow's just a dream away

 

Man has a dream and that's the start

He follows his dream with mind and heart

When it becomes a reality

It's a dream come true for you and me

 

So there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of every day

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

Just a dream away

 

 

[Father]

Well, the robins are back.  That's a sure sign of spring.  What year is it?

Oh, just before the turn of the century.  And believe me, things couldn't

be any better then they are today.

Yes sir, we've got all the latest things.  Gas lamps, a telephone, and the

latest design in cast iron stoves.  That reservoir keeps five gallons of

water hot all day, on just three buckets of coal.  Sure beats choppin' wood.

And isn't our new icebox a beauty?  Holds fifty pounds of ice.  Milk doesn't

sour as quick as it used to.  Our dog Rover here, keeps the water in the

drip pan from overflowing.

 

Ya know, it wasn't too long ago we had to carry water from a well.

But thanks to progress, we've got a pump right here in the kitchen.  'Course

we keep a bucket of water handy to prime it with.

 

Yes sir, we've got everything to make life easier.

 

Mother?  I was reading about a fellow named Tom Edison who's working on an

idea for snap-on electric lights.

 

[Mother]

I'll believe that when I see it.

 

[Father]

Huh.  That's my wife Sarah.

 

[Mother]

But with my new wash day marvel, it takes only five hours to do the wash.

Imagine!

 

[Father]

That's right, folks.  Now Mother has time for recreations like, uh...

 

[Mother]

Like canning, and polishing the stove?

 

[Father]

Okay mother.  You just iron the wrinkles out of my shirts.

 

[Mother]

Yes, dear.

 

[Father]

But no one can improve on nature for dryin' clothes.  [Thunder]

Oh well, the cistern was low on rainwater anyway.

 

[Dog]

Growwwl!

 

[Father}

Rover!  Mind your manners!

 

You know spring cleaning is a lot easier than it used to be.  Our new

air suction vacuum cleaner operates on one boy power.  Sure an improvement

over the old carpet beater.

 

Folks, we don't have an opera house in our town, but right here in our own

home we got the next best thing, a talking machine.

 

[Talking Machine Music]

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow,

Shining at the end of every day

 

[Parrot]

Roc!  She keeps that thing going all day long, roc!  That tenor is driving

me nuts.  Roc!  Progress.  Roc!

 

[Father]

You know, the young folks have their own ideas about entertainment.  For

instance, Jane, our teenage daughter, is getting ready to go to a trolley

party on one of those new electric streetcars.  She says hayrides are

old fashioned.

 

[Jane]

Oh!

 

[Father]

Don't be upset daughter, they're friends.

 

[Jane]

Oh.

 

[Father]

Huh, huh.  It's hard to imagine how life could be any easier.  But there's

a new company, uh, General Electric they call it, who are trying to bring

the same power that runs the trolley into folk's homes.  I don't know, but

if those fellows work that out, one thing is certain...

 

 

[Theme Song/Carousel Turn to Next Scene]

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of every day

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

And tomorrow's just a dream away

 

Man has a dream and that's the start

He follows his dream with mind and heart

When it becomes a reality

It's a dream come true for you and me

 

So there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

Shining at the end of every day

There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow

Just a dream away

       

 

[Father]

Whew!  Hottest summer we've had in years.  Well, we've progressed a long

way since the turn of the century, twenty years ago.  But no one realized

then that this would be the age of electricity.  Everyone's using it;

farmers, factories, whole towns.

 

With electric street lights, we don't worry so much about the youngsters

being out after dark.  And what a difference in our home.  We can run as

many wires as we need, in any direction for Mother's new electrical

servants; electric sewing machine, coffee percolator, toaster, waffle

iron, refrigerator; and they all go to work at the flick of a switch.

 

Take it easy...you'll blow a fuse!

 

[Dog]

Growwwl!

 

[Father]

Buster, leave 'em alone.

 

Well, the days of lugging heavy, hot irons from an old stove to an ironing

board are gone forever.  And with an electric iron and electric lights,

Mother has something to do to fill in her evenings.  Now it's no problem at

all to get my collars smooth, right Mother?

 

[Mother]

Yes, dear.

 

[Father]

Oh, by the way, we've got a phonograph now.  And there's a new kind of music

called jazz that all the youngsters go for.  With his crystal set, Grandpa

can get big-time entertainment from distances up to a hundred miles away.

Now that's called static.

 

You know, there's something progress can't improve on; it's called

romance.

 

[Mother]

Jane, it's after nine-thirty.

 

[Jane]

Yes, Mother.

 

[Father]

Huh, Huh.  Mother broadcast the time signals long before radio got the

idea.

 

[Dog]

Growwwl!

 

[Father}

Cut that out, Buster!

 

Well, we've got indoor plumbing now, saves a lot of walking.  In our new

bathroom, we've got a... a houseguest...Cousin Orville.  And as usual, he's

taken up the coolest spot in the house.  I will say one thing for him

though, Orville's rigged up something pretty clever.  He calls it air

cooling.  Too bad he's not reading the help wanted ads.

 

[Orville]

No privacy at all around this place.

 

[Father]

Sorry, Orville.  You know, considering all the conveniences we have, it

looks as though we've progressed about as far as we can.  But when we read

about the things those research people at General Electric are working on,

well we can be sure of one thing...

 

Scenes 3 & 4


 
 
Comments?

©2000 Ladder Productions
This site is in no way affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, General Electric,
or the 1964-65 World's fair. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Carousel of Progress
images are property of the Walt Disney Company. GE logo property of Genral Electric.