Saturday, December 8, 2007

Candle on The Water

Candle On the Water
I'll be your candle on the water
My love for you will always burn
I know you're lost and drifting,
But the clouds are lifting,
Don't give up, you have somewhere to turn.

I'll be your candle on the water
Till every wave is warm and bright
My soul is there beside you,
Let this candle guide you
Soon you'll see a golden stream of light.

A cold and friendless tide has found you
Don't let the stormy darkness pull you down
I'll paint a ray of hope around you
Circling in the air, lighted by a prayer.
I'll be your candle on the water
This flame inside of me will grow
Keep holding on, you'll make it
Here's my hand, so take it
Look for me reaching out to show
As sure as rivers flow,

I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go

Written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn


One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard was in a movie called Pete's Dragon, made by Walt Disney in the 1970's. The song was "Candle On The Water". I bought the album and played it so much that I eventually wore it out. I would tape record this song and send it anonymously to friends of mine who were having a rough time of it. I always figured that it was better to find out that you had an anonymous friend, than to find out you had an anonymous enemy. I think some of the most beautiful expressions of love and hope are included in this songs lyrics.

An interesting footnote: when Pete's Dragon came out on video, I bought a copy of it. I remember it was very expensive: $69, a lot of money at the time. Can you imagine how stunned I was when I got home and found that Disney had cut the song when they released it on video. Sometimes people can be incredibly shallow..., even at Walt Disney. But then again, when The Wizard of Oz was released some executives at MGM felt that it ran too long, so the first thing they wanted to cut was "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". When Breakfast At Tiffany's was released, an audience test said that movie was too long too. So the studio executives wanted to cut Audrey Hepburn singing Moon River. That was stupid. Marnie Nixon sang for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. And certainly Marnie Nixon has a beautiful voice. But in Breakfast At Tiffany's it the was fact that Holly couldn't sing that made the song beautiful. It was about love, ideas and feelings, not talent. We all have those, whether we can sing or not. Audrey Hepburn gave one of the most wonderful performances of all time. I wouldn't change anything. I'm glad that someone had the common sense to make the argument; and we are all the better for it.

2 comments:

Walker said...

I'm enjoying your blog - I am glad you decided to share.

Your mention of the beauty inherent in an honestly sung expression in spite of "lack of talent" reminded me of a piece NPR did some time ago about Temple Grandin, the autistic woman who convinced McDonald's Corporation to get the slaughterhouses they use for their beef to use her more humane "stairway to heaven" system, so that at least these cattle experience much less distress in their last moments of life. At the end of the interview Grandin sang a few bars of the Led Zeppelin song from which her device got its name. Talentwise it's probably the worst sung thing I've ever heard on the radio, but it sure made me smile.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for making this site. The song brings back many memories of 9th grade for me. I was in Girls Choir that year and my instructor Ms. Susan (?) McCormick introduced our class to this song. It became one of my favorite songs to sing all of the time. Over the years I could not remember all of the words, but now that I have found your site, I can sing all of it. By the way, I was in 9th grade back in 1986-1987. Again, thank you and God bless you and yours.