Post #300!!!!! Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

From the first post I did on this blog I've kept a running list of songs to post about.  "Thunder Road" has been on that list since the very beginning.  I've had many false starts trying to put into words how much this songs means to me, how it changed my life and why every time I hear this song it becomes more powerful and meaningful to who I am. 

So I'll just let the song speak for itself. 



I could not think a better song to represent what this blog has been about, what I believe and what my life is all about:

Magic,
Faith,
Love,
Hope.

Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones

When The Beatles released “Yesterday” in 1965, pop ballads were unusual. However the success of Paul McCartney’s introspective masterpiece opened the doors for rock stars to show a different side of them which has become a standard practice. The following year, the Beatles continued recording slower songs like “In My Life,” a beautiful and affirming song of devotion.



That next year, the Rolling Stones released their most enduring ballad “Ruby Tuesday” and instead of reflecting on the life-affirming power of love, the Stones told the story of a groupie.



Comparisons between the Rolling Stones and the Beatles reveal much about the two groups. These groups reflected two sides of a coin, two perspectives on reality. Characterized more as bad boys, the Rolling Stones’ music had a darkness around it while the Beatles had a glow. While the Beatles for the most part reflected idealized views of love and life, the Rolling Stone described the darker realities of human emotion.

Starting with Mick Jagger’s voice at the beginning of the song with no introduction, “Ruby Tuesday” immediately draws you in. The sound of a cello, which was played by Richards and Wyman, and piano creates a barren and lonely musical landscape as Jagger sings ominous words “yesterday don’t matter if it’s gone.”

A recorder, played by Brian Jones (the only deceased member of the Rolling Stones) dances around adding a folk like touch to this song and the song blossoms open in the chorus.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday,
Who could hang a name on you,
When you change with every new day,
Still I’m going to miss you.

Even though this is a girl that no one could figure out and seemed to change with every day, Jagger sings how he’s going to miss he which is why this song is so powerful. People come and go in life and most of these relationships are imperfect. Even though there are things that may annoy us about these people, we still miss them when they are gone.

Beautifully poetic and intriguing lines like “lose your dreams and you will lose your mind” make us pause. Jagger’s haunting voice filled with regret, foreboding and love forces us to listen. And the unique musical atmosphere of this song stays with us long after the song is over like the feeling a memory that you can’t remember.

We’ve Got Tonight by Bob Seeger

“There are things in a life that matter. Things in a past that can’t be denied.”

The Wonder Years is a beautiful television show. Following the childhood of Kevin Arnold growing up in the 1960s, we see life through the eyes of a boy trying to understand the world around him. At the center of Kevin’s world was a girl, Winnie Cooper and between them is one of the memorable and endearing relationships in television.

It was clear from the pilot episode that there was something special about this show. This first episode was about the death of Winnie’s brother in the Vietnam. At the end of the episode, Kevin finds Winnie and tries to comfort her. With few words and an awkward gesture of care, we witness the magic of a first kiss.



This is not a cliché first kiss. They do not say “I love you,” right after and lovingly gaze into each other eyes. In some ways, this kiss isn’t even about romance. It’s about being there for someone and feeling close to someone in a time a need. Watching this moment, you can feel the warmth of the presence that Kevin provides for Winnie and in their eyes we reflect on these moments of wonder in our own lives.

True to life, Kevin and Winnie’s relationships developed slowly on the show. There were difficulties, awkward situations and small victories. There’s a level of levity and humor in most of these situations and which is why “The Accident” is such a jarring episode.

In “The Accident,” Winnie starts hanging out with a new group of friends and Kevin feels left out.Kevin doesn’t approve of these older people, and he tries to let her know to no avail. The episode itself has a different rhythm than previous ones and because of this it’s unclear where this episode is going.

Then Winnie gets in a car accident. Kevin finds out and rides his bike over to her house and waits for her to come home.



Why doesn't Winnie want to see Kevin? Maybe Winnie is ashamed of how she put Kevin aside, or maybe she wants to keep Kevin as part of her past as she did throughout the episode. In the darkness of the car, all Kevin can see is a shadow of the girl that he first kissed.

As Kevin bikes away, the piano introduction of “We’ve Got Tonight” by Bob Seeger begins. There’s a moment when we think that Kevin is just going to let go but he doesn’t, he refuses too. Only when he looks through the window into Winnie’s apprehensive eyes does Kevin realize why. In three small words, “I Love you,” Kevin forgives her, embraces hers and commits himself to her. Like a sigh of relief, Winnie says, “I love you” in response as a tear falls down her face.

One of the most amazing things about this moment is how two people can feel an emotional intimacy while being at a physical distance. People have said “I love you” countless times on television but framed in this way, it’s truly unforgettable.

Even though Bob Seeger recorded “We’ve Got Tonight” years after that scene takes place, it is an ingenuous use of that song. It’s one of those perfect moments when two pieces of art mean the exact same thing making the other that much more powerful. It’s about one moment meaning the world, feeling the love for another and the wonder of love.

Radio Ga Ga by Queen

In 1985, during the legendary Live Aid fundraiser concert, at Wembley stadium Queen reminded the world why they were one of the greatest bands in rock music. Now if all you know if Queen in “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the hilarious sing along scene from Wayne’s World you are in for a surprise.



Freddy Mercury standing in front of a sea of people all clapping in unison and singing along to the chorus of “Radio Ga Ga” is one of the most amazing moments captured in Live Aid. Then there is the amazing improvised vocalization game at the end of the song that reminds us that unlike many other lead singers of rock band, Mercury can really sing. I get chills seeing it on a youtube.com, I can’t imagine what it must have felt like live.

Roger Taylor, Queen's drummer wrote “Radio Ga Ga” contemplating the transition from radio to music videos and the decline of diversity in radio programming. To a whole generation of musicians, the radio was the only gateway to the musical world and this song is a tribute to the power and memory of that experience.

“Radio Ga Ga” is about being nostalgic but it’s also a commentary on what it means to experience music. How different is music when you do not have visual superimposed on songs? What is it like to sit in front of a radio and just listen? Y'know, I’ve never done that. More often than not I’m listening to music when I’m around the house or in the car. It’s hardly every simply just listening to a song, but when I do it is different.

Is there a time when we will get sick of the constant vision as Queen wonders? Well, we kind of have. Music videos are no longer as central as they used to be. Once upon a time artist premiered music videos during prime time on network television. That’s just not case anymore.

When Freddie Mercury sings at the end of each chorus “someone still love you,” he’s speaking to people who feel left behind, who feel outdated, people who feel like they don’t matter. We all have these moments in life when we feel this way in life and hearing this reassuring voice brings us hope. We don’t need to know in our lives that everyone loves us, just one person and that makes all of the difference.

Just because something is old or outdated doesn’t mean that looses its meaning. Most of the games I play on my Wii areVitual Console titles, which are games from previous systems like Megan Man II. Some people still have traditional tube televisions and VCRs and don’t mind that the picture isn’t as sharp and the sound isn’t as clear. Just because a song is over twenty years old doesn’t mean that it’s not important, that it’s not relevant. People still love that stuff.

Even though you've passed on Freddie and you're music is from a generation ago, someone still loves you. I still love you.

Mad World by Tears for Fears/Michael Andrews & Gary Jules/Adam Lambert

1982-Tears for Fears, a British New Wave band releases “Mad World” as their third single becoming their first hit on the United Kingdom singles chart.

"Mad World" by Tears for Fears music video

2003-Michael Andrews and Gary Jules covers “Mad World” for the Donnie Darko soundtrack reaching number one on the British charts.

2009-Adam Lambert sings “Mad World” as one of one of the finalists on American Idol.

It’s amazing to think that after twenty-one years after its original release “Mad World” would become a hit and even more mind-boggling that “Mad World” would help propel an American Idol contestants to become the runner-up and one of most popular American Idols contestants.

“Mad World” by Tears for Fears on initial listening is an unremarkable song. Its synthesized New Wave instrumentation instantly make the song sound dated. The driving tempo and pulsing drums sounds like s a dance club song, however if you listen past the “blips and bloops” and focus on the lyrics an emotional rawness is revealed.

The lyrics of “Mad World” express a bleak world view. The song opens observing “familiar faces” that are “going nowhere.” In reaction to this the singers is crying wanting to “drown my sorrow.” The chorus bring us deeper into the thoughts of the protagonist contemplating how he feels about his own depression.

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I ever had
I find it hard to tell you ‘cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles, it’s a very, very . . . mad world.

The idea that people are running in circles without meaning feels like insanity to the singer. The contemplating of dying engenders a feeling of humor and sadness, which evokes a sense of madness in the main character. The singer rather die than live life aimlessly. It is kind of funny and kind of sad to conclude that death is the only way to make sense out of the insanity of life.

Some lyrics are ambiguous enough in their meaning that imagining different interpretations is no problem. Even though the words in “Mad World” don’t seem to leave a lot open for interpretation different performer have found different meaning in this song.

Tears for Fears with their faster tempo and synthesized sounds has paranoid feel. The jagged instrumental lines have a feeling of insanity. Here there is a man sitting in an apartment in a futuristic distopia frustrated, angry and scared not so much of the world but what his emotions are doing to himself.

Michael Andrews and Gary Jules interpretation of “Mad World” is similar to Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’“Hurt.” The slower tempo and simpler background instruments expresses a feeling of solitude and quiet contemplation. Instead of anger, there is a feeling of letting go and giving up. It just doesn’t make sense. Shivering, tired and close to tears, he no longer has anything left.

Adam Lambert takes the arrangement of Andrews and Jules and adds the anger and bitterness from the Tears for Fears version. The purity of Lambert’s voice against the lyrics expresses a feeling of disappointment, an innocence lost. Here is a man in conflict struggling with the world around him near the point of giving up.

There is one more interpretation to consider that bring forth the soul of "Mad World." In 2006, in front of a choir and full orchestra, Curt Smith from Tears for Fears performed “Mad World.”



What instantly hits the ear is the sonic world that it revels to us that this song is not so much about the individual but the “mad world.”

Every interpretation is a different reaction to the same world. Within the constructs of the song there is universality in the meaning of this song, the idea that we all at some time see the world as being insane. These different performances remind us that we all react to the world in our own unique way. They challenges us to examine ourselves and questions whether what we find inside is kind of funny or kind of sad.

Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight & The Pips

If I could be a member of any group in Rock history, I would be one of the Pips. More then being a member of the Beatles or even a member of the E Street Band I would be a Pip, and I’m not only one who feels this way.



I mean the Pips really are coolest back-up singers of all time. I mean check out this Geico commercial.



LOL “Take a train to happy town.” I mean c’mon people what is not to love about this commercial. I’m not being facetious or ironic in my love the of the Pips, I’m serious. These guys have inspired generations. Look at this little girl wanting to be a Pip.



Then there’s Gladys Knight, one of the greatest vocalist in popular music. Add her brother and their two cousins and you got Gladys Knight & The Pips. Gladys Knight started performing as a child. If you thought Michael Jackson was a child protégé check out Gladys at age seven.



Do you hear the way she shapes the melody by pulling back at the ends of phrases? Then she just floats up to the higher notes and slowly builds through the song. Oh good glory hallelujah, that last note. That’s righteous. If that’s how you sound at age seven, then I guess it's no surprise that she became the known as the Empress of Soul. Her impact can be heard in pretty much every female singer in popular music. Mariah Carey when inducting her into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said, “She’s like a textbook to learn from. You hear her delivery, and you wish you could communicate with as much honesty and emotion as she does.”



Gladys Knight & The Pips recording of “Midnight Train To Georgia” is one of those songs that is so beautifully performed and nuanced that I wonder how it doesn’t impact everyone who hears it. I don’t like saying comments like “if this doesn’t song doesn’t make you cry, you must be dead” because people have said that to me about songs that they love that really didn’t do it for me. But I get what they mean because sometimes a song touches you in such an immediate and real way that you cannot imagine it not having that effect on everyone who hears it.

The Pips act as the Greek chorus filling in details and giving the audience insight into the story that is being told. The Pips utilize every note they sing to add to the emotional impact of the story. My favorite Pip moment in this song comes at 1:35 in. The Pips sing “uh, uh,” Gladys responds with an “uh,” and the Pips immediately respond back with “no uh, uh.” Then it gets better as the Pips sing “woo, woo, woo” which reflects back to the train sound in chorus, but is used hear to describe the sorrow and crying as he has to sell his car.

“I’d rather live in his world, than live without him in mine.”

Gladys says it all in one line. She’s embracing her man not when things are going to great but in a moment of his failure. Gladys sings with a combination of gospel expression with a soulful elegance. She opens up on higher notes but it’s the quiet moments, which draw the listener in as she tells a story with every single word she sings.

All aboard to the midnight train to Georgia y’all. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Love Story by Taylor Swift

"Love Story” music video
“Love Story” live performance
“Love Story” live performance with Def Leppard (AWESOME!!)

Taylor Swift is one of most significant artists in popular music.

She is not a Disney artists like Miley Cyrus. She is not an American Ideal like Kelly Clarkson. She is not a pop queen like Britney Spears. Taylor Swift is something completely different.

What is unique about Taylor Swift is not so much the fact that she writes her own songs (which is an accomplishment) but that she sings more genuinely about teenage experiences than any modern artists. Like Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Swift has captured the complexity, pain and optimism of what it means to be a young adult. She is singing on a level deeper than Cyrus, is far more reflective than the Clarkson and lacks the over-sexualization of teenage lust that Britney Spears displayed when she was Swift’s age

Taylor Swift’s second album Fearless that debuted at the top the Billboard album charts. This great album that features songs straight from the teenager heart talking about first day of high school in “Fifteen” to how much Swift loves her mom with “The Best Day.” Her first single from this album is Swift at her best telling a “Love Story.”

In “Love Story,” Swift spins a tale of teenage romance based on Romeo & Juliet. The allusion to the Shakespeare tragedy is fitting as most high school students read Romeo & Juliet their freshmen year. This song follows the story of the play but instead of the tragic ending there is a happy conclusion.

Swift’s creativity as a writer shines through in her use of form. She uses the standard sections of the verse: “we were both young when I first saw you,” pre-chorus: “that you were Romeo, you were throwing pebble,” chorus: “Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone,” and bridge: “I got tired of waiting.” Swift interestingly uses of the sections have an narrative as well as a musical purpose.

The verses of the song are the story-telling potions of the song sung in the past tense. The pre-chorus sections describe the tension between the dad and Romeo. The choruses are sung in the present tense where Swift asks Romeo to take her away and save her, while the bridge extends the feeling from the pre-chorus, as Swift describes her pain.

In the bridge, Swift describes how she got tired of waiting and how her hope was fading. She asks her Romeo as the chorus softly builds to save her and if their love is real. There is an inkling of a happy conclusion as Swift previously uses the chorus to affirm their love. Right after the line “pulled out a ring and said,” the song modulates (changes key) up a whole step taking the song into a whole new level as we hear from Romeo's words for the first time.

Every other verse ends with “It’s a love story, baby just say yes,” asking Romeo to embrace the fact their love but when Swift replies yes to the question of marriage, there is a slight hesitation as relishes being asked before she accepts the proposal.

Within "Love Story," Swift describes profound feelings of being misunderstood, lonely and wanting to be taken away. These feelings aren't limited to teenagers and it is in these emotions that we find ourselves.

“Love Story” revels in the magic of falling in love, expresses the pain of doubt and the celebrates the promise of true love. Listening to Taylor Swift is like reading the diary of a teenager like many I have met who are honest, thoughtful and hopeful.

I look forward to following Taylor Swift’s career. Her music is beautiful and like this love story, it’s real.

Piece Of My Heart by Erma Franklin/Janis Joplin/Melissa Etheridge

Erma Franklin, the older sister of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin who never made it big.

Janis Joplin, whose one of the most influential singers in popular music who died tragically from a drug overdoes.

Melissa Etheridge, a powerful singer-songwriter who inspired the world through her music, her voice and her courage as a breast cancer survivor.

These three artists are linked together by one song, “Piece Of My Heart.” Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, this first recording of this song was by Erma Franklin the older sister of Aretha Franklin, one of the most influential singer in American pop music and ranked number one as the greatest singer of all time. While Aretha had great critical and commercial success, Erma and her other sister Carolyn struggled in the music business. Erma had a darker and less vibrant voice than Aretha. She faced other misfortunes in her singing career and in the mid-1970s left the business. Erma passed away in 2002 from throat cancer, never fulfilling her dream of making it in the music business while her younger sisters legendary status as the Queen of Soul continues to grow.



Erma’s biggest success was with “Piece Of My Heart” in 1967 which peaked at number sixty-two on the billboard hot 100 list. “Piece Of My Heart” expresses a unique struggle in which the narrator feels that she is giving all that she can to the relationship but wants to stick it out, even though it is causing her pain. Erma sings soulfully pulling back on “didn’t I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly could?” and later effortlessly moving across the range of her voice in the second verse “and you never hear me when I cry at night.” The background is classic Atlantic Soul with a laid-back gospel feeling in the background instruments and vocalists. Erma’s expresses the pain and struggle in the song but there is a sense of restraint not fully acknowledging the innate conflict within the song. In contrast, Janis Joplin mercilessly expresses inner turmoil like few other singers have ever done before.



In 1968, Janis Joplin with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company covered “Piece Of My Heart.” Janis Joplin proved to the world that “a woman can be tough” performing and partying just as hard as her male contemporaries. Her attitude and style stood out against conventions of not only how people thought a woman should look but also how a woman should act. Even in our day and age, her scraggly appearance and raw voice stand out as a unique challenge to the way that people view the woman in popular culture.

After listening to Erma’s recording of “Piece Of My Heart” almost everything about Janis Joplin’s seems different. Instead of a clean blues band introduction, a dirty, raunchy and aggressive guitar with the rest of the band builds to Janis entrance. Though the bands sound completely different they both share a sense of bluesy expression leaning hard on notes that color the chords and pulling the tempo back creating different but expressive grooves.

Janis takes the blues convention and blows it apart. Her voice is raspy, untrained and has a tone that is both undesirable somewhat painful to listen to, However there is something so open and desperate in her expression that it not only intrigues but also engages the listener.

Janis starts the verse gently is after screaming out “come on.” Her tone cleans up on the word “feel” and then later on the next high note on “yeah” she howls leading up to the chorus. She sings the course with a chorus with a combination of anger, frustration and exacerbation. When she sings “you know you got it, if it makes you feel good, there’s almost a sense of servitude.

In the second verse, she adds layers to the lyrics repeating the word “never.” When children can’t find ways to express themselves sometimes they just repeat a word “I really, really, really, REALLY want this toy” this same kind of desperation and fixations is expressed when Janis repeats “never.” This is followed by Janis sobbing through the word “crying” before pulling herself together: “each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain, but when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.”

When Janis sings the out the loud high note after “you know you got it” in the second to last iteration of the verse, she shows us the most raw of emotion. There is nothing holding her back. It’s concentrated emotion with all the impurities left in the mixture. The amazing thing is how good hearing Janis’ pain feels to us as listeners. Unfortunately Janis’ demons were all too real and she died at the age of 27, from a heroin overdoes.

Melissa Etheridge is one of those artists that even though you may not love her music, you still hope for her success. Working her way up thought he music business she rejected the images that people suggested that she adopt working as an uncompromising singer and songwriter. Her breakout hit was “Come To My Window” and has released a total of ten albums, three of which have gone multi-platinum. One of the greatest female rock singers she is thought of as being the female Bruce Springsteen matching him in her musicianship and uncompromising devotion to her fans.

In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer and in the following month, she underwent chemotherapy. Etheridge did not perform the next year and was rarely seen in the public eye. Then in February of 2005, she performed with Joss Stone in a tribute to Janis Joplin. Joss started the performance singing another Janis Joplin song “Cry Baby” and then Melissa Etheridge came out on stage, head bald from the side effects of chemotherapy and showed the world that she was back.

When she first approached the microphone and sang “c’mon” with her energetic and powerful voice it was clear that this was a special moment in popular music. After the huge opening of the song, the whole band quieted down and Melissa drew the crowd in. With her eyes closed Melissa quietly sang “didn’t I make you feel” and then opened her eyes and flashed a joyous smile and her face with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Her voice, a unique blend of soul and rock, sensuously snaked around the notes of the melody. The camera panned back for a long view with Janis looking on from above the band approvingly when Melissa sang, “well, I’m going to show you.” When the camera came back to her face as Melissa sang “a woman can be tough.”

With this performance, this song became not only a tribute of Janis’ legacy but also a glorious celebration of the spirit in woman all over the world who have courageously faced breast cancer. If Melissa Etheridge’s scream at the end of the performance and her whole performance doesn’t prove that a woman can be tough, I don’t know what does.

The legacy of “Piece Of My Heart” lies in Erma Franklin’s dreams, Janis Joplin’s tragic life and Melissa Etheridge’s triumphant performance. With each artist, layers of expression are added to “Piece Of My Heart reminding us of the power of music to express the spirit and soul of its artists. Through the artists we understand not only what this songs means to the artist but what it means to ourselves pulling us closer to a piece of our hearts.

Part Of Your World by Jodi Benson

Everybody has a dream.

Some picture a new car. Others think a life without work, and we all hope for a world in which we can understand each other on a deeper level to make us closer as human beings and diminish the conflict in our lives.

“Part Of Your World” is from the Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid. This film was released in1989 and marked the beginning of a new renaissance in Disney animation including the films, Beauty And the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. “Part of Your World” is the “I Want” song that is part of most musicals. The “I Want” song features the main character describing his or her motivation for the actions he or she takes within the story. Other well known “I Want” songs include “I Just Can’t Wait To be King” from The Lion King, “Up There” from The South Park musical and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. These are often the memorable songs from musicals because they provide a direct insight into the hopes and dreams of the main character that define their beliefs and actions.

I’m not saying that we all know what if feels like to be a mermaid, become infatuated with a guy you saved and want legs but I think we can all understand desiring something different in our lives and feeling misunderstood which is what “Part of Your World” is really about.

The Little Mermaid was the first Disney movie that felt like it spoke to my generation. The animation was more modern, the story was less predictable and the music reflected modern sensibilities. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman created a musical universe in The Little Mermaid that took the musical traditions of Disney and modernized them for a new generation. No longer was the singing a caricature of the human voice like in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves but the sound of real people singing. The background music, though orchestrated with tradition acoustic instruments melded effortlessly with synthesized colors reflecting the music of the 1980s.

Jodi Benson is my Disney Princess. She did the voice acting for Ariel in The Little Mermaid, the title character in Thumbelina, as well as Tour Guide Barbie in Toy Story 2 (if you haven’t seen that film in a while pay special attention to Benson’s work here, it’s a stroke of genius). Jodi Benson sings with a bright clear tone that at the beginning of "Part of Your World." She doesn’t have a lot of vibrato (a pulsating effect produced by rapid variations in pitch) which often makes trained classical music voice not as relatable to people’s ears. Her voice isn’t weak and you can hear her fill out tone when she holds the word “more” at the end of the first verse. In the chorus she pulls back her volume with “I want to be where the people are blurring the lines between singing and speaking. Her voice floats around the notes and has a weightless quality that propels the music along. She utilizes variation in her tone and dynamics as great speakers do, sometimes speaking loud, sometimes speaking softly, sometimes speaking quickly and sometimes taking time make sure that they are understood.

Bet'cha on land they understand
That they don't reprimand their daughters
Proper women sick of swimmin'
Ready to stand

We all know as landlubbers that female oppression is not exclusive to the undersea world. This level of hope through child-like ignorance is charming because we understand that Ariel feels misunderstood by her father. As much as the realist in us knows that Ariel’s dreams are preposterous, it is hard not to smile at the innocence and the hope that she embodies.

Almost all the melody lines have an upward direction. It’s like how we raise our pitch when we ask a questions. With Ariel, the melodies don’t so much question but rise to differenr possibilities. She idolizes the human life partially through ignorance but also because she doesn’t know how to make her mer-life better.

I have the pleasure of spending my days as a teacher with fourth grade students. And if you talk to fourth grader they share many feelings with Ariel. They wish for a recess that would last forever or a life where their parents can just get along. They just want to be like everyone else and can’t understand why their teachers seem to make their lives so difficult. It’s a time in life when dreams are so often crushed by reality, a time where the world becomes darker and a time when hope is so often disappointed by reality. The genius of this song is that it relates to children but also speaks to adults, because we remember how it feels to be a child and we so often see that hope in the children around us.

The inspiring part of the story of Ariel is that her unrealistic hopes come true.

There are people who fight through the doubts and the criticism and rise beyond reason to make the improbably a reality. They are people like Fred Rogers who was told that children would never watch a television show that focused on education with little song and dance to entertain. However, in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Fred Rogers created television show that has inspired generations of children to believe in themselves.

They are artist like George Lucas, who had to personally finance the first Star Wars film because no one else believed the universe he created would capture the imagination of audiences. More then thirty years later Star Wars has entertained millions of people and has become one of the most influential franchises in entertainment.

There are politicians like Barack Obama who after losing his 2000 bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives was left with little in his life savings and personal credit. When he went to the 2000 Democratic National Convention after the election he had just lost, his credit card was rejected he was not even able to get a floor pass. Eight years later, Barack Obama has done what many thought was impossible and is preparing to be inaugurated as the forty-fourth president of the United States of America.

What defines us? Is it our jobs or where we come from? Is it the people that we love and things that we believe? Or is it the dreams that we have and hold close to our hearts? We tell children that they can grow to be anything that want but we stop telling ourselves that somewhere along the line. What we hope for, what we desire reflects what we value in our lives. It informs our motivation and actions as well as the outlook we have in life.

When I listen to “Part of Your World” and it makes me want to part of Ariel’s world. A place where dreams come true, forgiveness and true love are around the corner, and crabs can conduct impromptu orchestras filled with sea animals. The great thing though is that my world isn’t that far away from Ariel’s (except for the crab part) and maybe the reason this song warms my heart is because it reminds me of the feeling of hope that makes each day shine with the potential to make our dreams come true.