The Sun Will Shine Again!
With everything that’s going on in the world right now due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, I thought today’s blog could actually be a letter of encouragement. People have lost their lives, and they have also been laid off/furloughed or have been forced to take pay cuts. It’s extremely traumatic, and when we all will overcome this unfortunate epidemic remains to be seen. One could maybe argue that it’s even more sad and unpredictable than 9/11.
It’s times like these in which we have the choice of believing either that this is the end of the world and we’re all done for, or that there is hope and that we will overcome. Personally, I choose to believe the latter. While there are many things that might make us feel pressure to believe otherwise, hope comes in all shapes and sizes. Being surrounded by the family and friends that you love gives you hope, and so does faith in God. But it can be difficult not knowing whom or what to rely on when you’ve had an unfortunate tragedy in your lifetime.
Disney Movies typically tell stories of protagonists who are hoping to achieve a certain goal or acquire a certain achievement at some point in their lifetimes, and often those protagonists express the emotional desire to achieve those goals or acquire those things in song. However, up until the early 2000s, Disney movies seldom included a protagonist song about failing: getting to the halfway point of achieving his/her goal and then losing a sense of direction, not knowing where to turn next. A lesser known film, however, did the opposite: Home on the Range in 2004.
When “Home on the Range,” was in production at Disney, Alan Menken (Oscar-winning composer of The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) and other Disney classics), was hired to compose the music for the film, along with Glenn Slater as lyricist. While working on the film, Slater and Menken were told by the film’s creative team, writers/directors Will Finn and John Sanford and Producer Alice Dewey Goldstone, that they wanted there to be a song in the film where the film’s three main protagonists (The Cows: Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway) are lost and they don’t how to go on. A “Where Do We Go From Here” song was in order. Menken shared later that he had never written that kind of song in his other Disney films. He said “I thought that was a terrible idea for a song. I don’t want to write a ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ song, I mean, what will we do with it?”
But, 9/11 happened while “Home on the Range,” was in production at Disney, and like many artists, Menken wanted to “write something that would be a balm to me and to other people.” He hoped that when people heard the song they would realize that when there is so much despair, there is always hope. As a result, he and Slater wrote “Will the Sun Ever Shine Again.” Performed by Bonnie Raitt in the film, it really struck a chord for audiences. Menken received so many phone calls from people telling about how the song made them want to cry. (For the record, the song also makes me emotional !.)
In these unprecedented times of upheaval—in which all routines have changed, and the future appears bleak, or at least undefined—we could all use the words that Slater penned and Menken so beautifully rendered musically. (Lyrics are below, and I have also attached the YouTube link if you’d like to listen to the song.)
Most importantly, I believe that the sun will shine again someday, and I hope you can find the strength and courage to not only believe that, but to believe that we’ll overcome. Collectively encouraging each other, as in this emotive song, will help us believe in the sunshine to come.
Will the Sun Ever Shine Again
(by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, performed by Bonnie Raitt)
Rain is pourin' down like the
Heavens are hurtin'.
Seems like it's been dark since
The devil knows when.
How do you go on, never knowin'
For certain,
Will the sun ever shine again?
Feels like it's been years since
It started to thunder.
Clouds are campin' out in the valley
And glen.
How do you go on, when you can't help
But wonder.
Will the sun ever shine again?
What if the rain keeps fallin'?
What if the sky stays gray?
What if the wind keeps squallin',
And never go away?
Maybe the soon the storm will be
Tired of blowin'.
Maybe soon it all will be over, amen.
How do you go on, if there's no way
of knowin'?
Will the sun ever shine?
Wish I could say.
Send me a sign-
One little ray.
Lord, if you're listenin', how long
until then?
Will the sun ever shine again?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tthYzUhuvZE
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