"If I Were King of the Forest" is a song from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y.
Lahr employs a spoken interlude during the number, in which the rest of the group ask him how he would deal with other powerful animals if he were king, for example: The song contains the line "What makes the Hottentot so Hot?"
Two portions of the song were cut for reasons of time: a brief middle stanza in which the other characters echo the verse that preceded it and Lahr first proclaims himself "Monarch of all I survey" (a line repeated later in the song), and the final stanza which ended with the Lion proclaiming "If I...were...king!"
(two versions were recorded: one where Lahr himself unsuccessfully tries to hit the high note on the final word, and instead does so in his character's trademark growl; the other has the final high note powerfully delivered by soprano Georgia Stark, who was paid $25 for her involvement).
Additionally, the complete version was used for the 1996 soundtrack recording of The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, also from Rhino.