Tag Archives: peter pan

Finding Neverland – When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground

Posted in Music, Songs by

IMG_0359I may have a small obsession, and by small I mean the size of the world.  When I first heard about the show Finding Neverland last year in April I was beyond excited and knew I had to see the show as soon as it was in previews at the American Repertoire Theatre (ART) in Boston.  So, being the obsessive person I am, I called a friend that worked there and asked where the best seat was in the house, bought a ticket for a show in August 2014, and fell in love.

I am only assuming that now that it is on Broadway it has only improved in story, song composition, and acting, but the storyline of two unlikely people helping each other is a classic.  Plus Eliot Kennedy and Gary Barlow are geniuses.  I had been waiting for the casting soundtrack to come out because I was addicted to the song ‘When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground.’  Well my prayers have been answered because as of July 17, 2015 they are releasing the Broadway soundtrack (of the cast) and the first song that was released was (drumroll please) ‘When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground.’

So why is this particular song an audience favorite?  It has an adult coming to the realization that make believe is needed in your life at every age.  While a child is trying to deal with the pain of losing his father, his mother being sick, and the possibility of becoming an orphan.  The thoughts of a young Peter understanding that make believe doesn’t fix everything he is feeling.  The hate and anger he has towards his mother for wanting to keep her illness hidden from him and his brothers and make life normal when life isn’t normal.  This song takes you above the clouds and out of the dark that life can hold when bad things happen and when fear takes control.

The song opens with:

“When did life become so complicated?
Years of too much thought and time I wasted,
And in each line upon my face,
Is proof I fought and lived another day.

Most people have regrets in their lives.  They didn’t take the risk to ask that girl out on the train, didn’t take their dream job out of fear of failure, or didn’t make that big move for fear of being alone.  We allow fear to control our thoughts and our actions in life instead of just doing.  In the second verse it says, ‘I make believe I’m in control.’  I think this line sums it up that we allow fear to control.  Everyone thinks I am nuts for moving across the country with no job lined up, moving in with my family, and leaving everything I have built career wise on the east coast, but I am telling you that I don’t allow fear to control what I do.  Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and that is what this song is about.  Allowing yourself to open up and connect without the thought of fear.  J.M. Barrie’s story with the Llewelyn Davies was two families learning to make believe again, not allowing fear to control them, and a story that everyone wants to believe in.

Watch the video below of Matthew Morrison (J.M. Barrie) and Aiden Gemma (Peter) recording ‘When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground’. Click here to buy the album!

Peter Pan – Is It Really A Children’s Story or Life?

Posted in Bands & Music Artists, Songs by

When you tell someone they have Peter Pan syndrome it is looked at as a negative connotation, but in my opinion it just means you are still young at heart.  The story is about a boy who never grows up, but he is more then that.  He is a leader, a defender of all that is good, supportive of his friends decisions, and has a sense of humor that can cheer up anyone who is having a bad day.  J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is a classic story and has been one of my favorites since I was a child.  The fantasy of a world where you never grow old, where you can have adventures everyday, and the ability to hangout with your friends all the time sounds like a great place to me.  It seems that I’m not the only one who has an obsession with it because the story pops up in today’s music.

In 2013, All Time Low released a song called ‘Somewhere in Neverland,’ which explores the concept of two people who have grown up and life has not turned out the way they had hoped.  Their lives have become mundane and living in the past.  But the song is truly about falling in love with someone that can bring you to another world and where it could be a better reality together. “Wendy run away with me, I know it sounds crazy don’t you see what you do to me?  I want to be your lost boy, your last chance, a better reality.”  Also in 2013, VanLadyLove released a song called ‘Neverland.’  When you want success to happen you have to be positive, have motivation to an end goal, and be willing to do what ever it takes to succeed.  In ‘Neverland’ the lyrics say, “If you want to fly think happy thoughts.”  Happy thoughts are what makes you fly to another world of success, where fears and sadness are left on another planet.

In 2008, the Jonas Brothers released a song called ‘Fly With Me,’ which also uses Peter Pan concepts.  In the chorus they sing, “We’re chasing stars to lose our shadows, Peter Pan and Wendy turnout fine, So won’t you fly with me?”  It’s about taking risks, believing someone is going to catch you if you fall, and knowing that in the end it is all going to be alright as long as you continue to fight everyday to find where you belong.

The list of songs goes on, 5 Seconds of Summer’s ‘Lost Boy’ and Ruth B’s ‘Lost Boy.’  Peter Pan isn’t just a children’s story it is a story about life.  We are lost children growing up, hoping that there is something more out there for us, hoping that we are meant to do something amazing, but Peter Pan was the creator of his own destiny.  A leader full of happiness and positive thinking that always led him to success from fighting the pirates, to protecting the lost boys, to understanding when it is time for his friends to grow older.  Growing older doesn’t mean that you forget.  It just means that you need to think differently, and that chasing stars to lose our shadows is what we need to do every day.