“Everybody over at our place does just what he wants to do.”
Why it's great
One plain sentence sums up the whole household's idea of how to live.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
On this team everybody does just what he is good at.
00:00 / 04:45
00:00 / 04:45
Poppins Becomes a Lily of the Field, Explained
You Can't Take It with You · 1938
Chapter 2 of 27 · 4'45"
A bored clerk named Poppins would rather build toys than add up figures, and a guest from the Sycamore house offers him their philosophy: "Everybody over at our place does just what he wants to do." The man invites him to try it — "come on over and become a lily" — while at the office Blakely's offer is brushed aside.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:38–2:31
Poppins Becomes a Lily
52s
Poppins Becomes a Lily of the Field, explained
What happens
Mr. Poppins is a clerk at Kirby's office who secretly makes little toys. A visitor encourages him, tells him the people at their house all do what they please, and invites him to join them. Meanwhile Mr. Blakely tries to interest Mr. Vanderhof in a $100,000 deal, and Poppins decides to walk out.
What's really going on
Poppins spends his days checking figures he cares nothing about, and he admits, "I make up things." He keeps a private plan: someday he will do nothing else. "Someday, when my ship comes in," he says. The visitor answers with the family creed — "Everybody over at our place does just what he wants to do" — and a promise that providence, not a paycheck, keeps them: "The same one that takes care of the lilies of the field." Against that, Blakely's hundred-thousand-dollar talk and his parting shot, "If you leave, Poppins, you needn't come back," sound like exactly the trap the film warns about. Poppins walks out anyway.
Key lines & what they mean
- “That calls for the building to collapse, I suppose?”
- A dry joke about how shocking it is that Poppins should make a mistake after twenty flawless years.
- “Someday I'm going to do nothing else. Someday, when my ship comes in.”
- Poppins' dream deferred: he will make toys for a living once his luck finally turns.
- “Everybody over at our place does just what he wants to do.”
- The Sycamore family creed, offered to Poppins as a better way to live than obeying a strict office.
- “The same one that takes care of the lilies of the field, Mr. Poppins.”
- The visitor's answer about who provides for the family: God, as in the Bible verse about the lilies of the field.
Theme
- Dreams — Poppins would rather build toys than add figures, and the visitor urges him to chase that instead of a paycheck.
- Money — Blakely waves a $100,000 check at Vanderhof, who would rather talk fishing; the Sycamores measure a life without it.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level2/7
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“Someday I'm going to do nothing else. Someday, when my ship comes in.”
Why it's great
The repeated someday carries both hope and the long wait behind it.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
Someday I'll open my own shop, when my ship comes in.
“That calls for the building to collapse, I suppose?”
Why it's great
It tops the other man's exaggeration with a straight-faced joke.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
You were two minutes late; that calls for a written apology, I suppose?
“The same one that takes care of the lilies of the field, Mr. Poppins.”
Why it's great
Answers a practical worry with a line from scripture.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
The same one that takes care of the birds, I guess.
The same thing that keeps the lilies growing.
Up next · 03like hotcakesThe scene: A Day in the Sycamore HouseTakeaways
What you walk away with- Vanderhof keeps the meeting off-balance by never answering directly.
- A barrel of fun shows how casually the household talks about joy.
- If it's all the same to you wraps a demand in good manners.
- Poppins leaves the office the moment someone offers him freedom.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Mr. Poppins stay in a job he dislikes?
He needs the money and the office is strict, but he makes toys on the side and keeps telling himself he will do that full time when his ship comes in; the visitor's offer is what finally pushes him out.
Who invites Poppins to the Sycamore house?
A guest he meets at the office, who tells him everyone at their house does what they like and that providence takes care of them. Poppins takes him up on it and quits.
What does "when my ship comes in" mean here?
It means when his luck finally turns and he has enough money. Poppins uses it to say he will quit the figures and make toys for a living someday.
Why does Blakely tell Poppins he needn't come back?
Because Poppins is walking out with the visitor, and Blakely will not take him back afterward; it is the office's way of punishing the choice to quit.
What does the $100,000 check have to do with the scene?
Blakely is trying to buy something from Mr. Vanderhof and waves the check to close the deal, but Vanderhof keeps changing the subject to fishing and graduations.