Alantlm

Snow White has the work song of “Whistle While you Work” and here are the lyrics organized into what they are about:

• What: “Cheerfully together we can tidy up the place”; “hum a merry tune”
  
• What (advice): Put them in the tub”; “not under the rug”.
  
• Why: “When hearts are high the time will fly”; “It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace”;
  
• Why (play): “as you sweep the room / Imagine that the broom is someone that you love / And soon you’ll find you’re dancing to the tune”
  

Focusing on “why” and “why (play)”, this song is making cleaning faster and more enjoyable, particularly when daydreaming about romance. She also interrupts her own song to give advice to the animals and ultimately making cleaning better. 

The overall atmosphere is uplifting as Snow White sings and hums and the birds join in by whistling.

… let’s compare with the next work song…

The Dwarf miners have their work song of “Heigh Ho” and here are the organized lyrics (the words in brackets are repeated):

• What: “we [dig] up everything in sight”; “we dig up diamonds by the score / a thousand rubies, sometimes more”
  
• Where: “[in a mine] where a million diamonds shine”
  
• When: “we [dig] in our mine the whole day through”; “we [dig] from early morn till night”
  
• Why: “to [dig] is what we like to do”; “It ain’t no trick to get rich quick / If you [dig] with a shovel or a pick”; “but we don’t know what we dig’em for / we [dig]”
  

Overall, the Dwarfs’ work song is more structurally repetitive and rhythmic. The lyrics repeat between the dwarfs and their echoes, and their rhythm is emphasized by the sound of the pick axes.

In regards to lyrics and characterization, their work song seems to have no apparent meaning. Unlike Snow White who works for a purpose (link) and sings to improve her work environment, the Dwarfs - based on the “why” points - seem to work for the sake of working.

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Alan