The opening piano is so spooky and mysterious but beautiful. I feel like it would be good for a Halloween story, but man it works so well here setting up what is one of Disney’s biggest, hugest stories. Also I won’t lie, one of the teaser trailers for the 2017 remake using this theme but piano only at first REALLY got me. I’ll never forget the chills I got.
Mia & Sebastian's Theme reminds me of "Eki (Station)" written by Mariya Takeuchi, a very popular Japanese singer and song writer, in 1986. The story behind the song mysteriously coincides the theme of LA LA LAND.
A Lovely Night 9:47 The sun is nearly gone The lights are turning on A silver shine that stretches to the sea We've stumbled on a view That's tailor-made for two What a shame those two are you and me Some other girl and guy Would love this swirling sky But there's only you and I And we've got no shot This could never be You're not the type for me (really?) And there's not a spark in sight What a waste of a lovely night You say there's nothing here? Well, let's make something clear I think I'll be the one to make that call (but you'll call?) And though you looked so cute In your polyester suit (it's wool) You're right, I'd never fall for you at all And maybe this appeals To someone not in heels Or to any girl who feels There's some chance for romance But, I'm frankly feeling nothing Is that so? Or it could be less than nothing Good to know, so you agree? That's right What a waste of a lovely night
Someone in the Crowd 3:48 You got the invitation You got the right address You need some medication? The answer's always yes A little chance encounter Could be the one you've waited for Just squeeze a bit more Tonight we're on a mission Tonight's the casting call If this is the real audition Oh, God, help us all You make the right impression Then ev'rybody knows your name We're in the fast lane Someone in the crowd could be the one you need to know The one to finally lift you off the ground Someone in the crowd could take you where you wanna go If you're the someone ready to be found you're the someone ready to be found Do what you need to do 'Til they discover you And make you more than who You're seeing now So with the stars aligned I think I'll stay behind You've got to go and find That someone in the crowd That someone in the crowd Is someone in the crowd the only thing you really see? Watching while the world keeps spinning 'round? Somewhere there's a place where I find who I'm gonna be A somewhere that's just waiting to be found Someone in the crowd could be the one you need to know The someone who could lift you off the ground Someone in the crowd could take you where you wanna go Someone in the crowd could make you Someone in the crowd could take you Flying off the ground If you're the someone ready to be found
Another Day of Sun 0:00 Ba-ba-da-ba, da-ba-da-ba Ba-ba-da-ba, da-ba-da-ba Ba-ba-da-ba, da-ba-da-ba Ba-ba-ba-ba I think about that day I left him at a Greyhound station West of Santa Fé We were seventeen, but he was sweet and it was true Still I did what I had to do 'Cause I just knew Summer Sunday nights We'd sink into our seats Right as they dimmed out all the lights A Technicolor world made out of music and machine It called me to be on that screen And live inside each scene Without a nickel to my name Hopped a bus, here I came Could be brave or just insane We'll have to see 'Cause maybe in that sleepy town He'll sit one day, the lights are down He'll see my face and think of how He used to know me Climb these hills I'm reaching for the heights And chasing all the lights that shine (lights that shine) And when they let you down (it's another day of) You'll get up off the ground (it's another day of) 'Cause morning rolls around And it's another day of sun I hear 'em every day The rhythms in the canyons That'll never fade away The ballads in the barrooms Left by those who came before They say "you gotta want it more" So I bang on every door And even when the answer's "no" Or when my money's running low The dusty mic and neon glow Are all I need And someday as I sing my song A small-town kid'll come along That'll be the thing to push him on and go, go Climb these hills, I'm reaching for the heights And chasing all the lights that shine (lights that shine) And when they let you down (it's another day of) You'll get up off the ground (it's another day of) 'Cause morning rolls around And it's another day of sun And when they let you down The morning rolls around It's another day of sun (oh) It's another day of sun (oh) It's another day of sun (sun, sun, sun, sun) It's just another day of sun (oh) Just another day of sun (oh) It's another day of sun (sun) Another day has just begun (oh) It's another day of sun It's another day of sun
A lovely night The sun is nearly gone The lights are turning on A silver shine that stretches to the sea We've stumbled on a view That's tailor-made for two What a shame those two are you and me Some other girl and guy Would love this swirling sky But there's only you and I And we've got no shot This could never be You're not the type for me (really?) And there's not a spark in sight What a waste of a lovely night You say there's nothing here? Well, let's make something clear I think I'll be the one to make that call (but you'll call?) And though you looked so cute In your polyester suit (it's wool) You're right, I'd never fall for you at all And maybe this appeals To someone not in heels Or to any girl who feels There's some chance for romance But, I'm frankly feeling nothing Is that so? Or it could be less than nothing Good to know, so you agree? That's right What a waste of a lovely night
Audition My aunt used to live in Paris I remember, she used to come home and tell us these stories about being abroad And I remember she told us that she jumped into the river once, barefoot She smiled Leapt, without looking And tumbled into the Seine The water was freezing She spent a month sneezing But said she would do it again Here's to the ones who dream Foolish as they may seem Here's to the hearts that ache Here's to the mess we make She captured a feeling Sky with no ceiling The sunset inside a frame She lived in her liquor And died with a flicker I'll always remember the flame Here's to the ones who dream Foolish as they may seem Here's to the hearts that ache Here's to the mess we make She told me "A bit of madness is key To give us new colors to see Who knows where it will lead us? And that's why they need us" So bring on the rebels The ripples from pebbles The painters, and poets, and plays And here's to the fools who dream Crazy as they may seem Here's to the hearts that break Here's to the mess we make I trace it all back to then Her, and the snow, and the Seine Smiling through it She said she'd do it again
City of stars City of stars Are you shining just for me? City of stars There's so much that I can't see Who knows? Is this the start of something wonderful and new? Or one more dream that I cannot make true?
Someone in the crowd You got the invitation You got the right address You need some medication? The answer's always yes A little chance encounter Could be the one you've waited for Just squeeze a bit more Tonight we're on a mission Tonight's the casting call If this is the real audition Oh, God, help us all You make the right impression Then ev'rybody knows your name We're in the fast lane Someone in the crowd could be the one you need to know The one to finally lift you off the ground Someone in the crowd could take you where you wanna go If you're the someone ready to be found you're the someone ready to be found Do what you need to do 'Til they discover you And make you more than who You're seeing now So with the stars aligned I think I'll stay behind You've got to go and find That someone in the crowd That someone in the crowd Is someone in the crowd the only thing you really see? Watching while the world keeps spinning 'round? Somewhere there's a place where I find who I'm gonna be A somewhere that's just waiting to be found Someone in the crowd could be the one you need to know The someone who could lift you off the ground Someone in the crowd could take you where you wanna go Someone in the crowd could make you Someone in the crowd could take you Flying off the ground If you're the someone ready to be found
Another day of sun I think about that day I left him at a Greyhound station West of Santa Fé We were seventeen, but he was sweet and it was true Still I did what I had to do 'Cause I just knew Summer Sunday nights We'd sink into our seats Right as they dimmed out all the lights A Technicolor world made out of music and machine It called me to be on that screen And live inside each scene Without a nickel to my name Hopped a bus, here I came Could be brave or just insane We'll have to see 'Cause maybe in that sleepy town He'll sit one day, the lights are down He'll see my face and think of how He used to know me Climb these hills I'm reaching for the heights And chasing all the lights that shine (lights that shine) And when they let you down (it's another day of) You'll get up off the ground (it's another day of) 'Cause morning rolls around And it's another day of sun I hear 'em every day The rhythms in the canyons That'll never fade away The ballads in the barrooms Left by those who came before They say "you gotta want it more" So I bang on every door And even when the answer's "no" Or when my money's running low The dusty mic and neon glow Are all I need And someday as I sing my song A small-town kid'll come along That'll be the thing to push him on and go, go Climb these hills, I'm reaching for the heights And chasing all the lights that shine (lights that shine) And when they let you down (it's another day of) You'll get up off the ground (it's another day of) 'Cause morning rolls around And it's another day of sun And when they let you down The morning rolls around It's another day of sun (oh) It's another day of sun (oh) It's another day of sun (sun, sun, sun, sun) It's just another day of sun (oh) Just another day of sun (oh) It's another day of sun (sun) Another day has just begun (oh) It's another day of sun It's another day of sun
I love how this track sets the tone for the intro, and the film as a whole. The orchestration makes it hauntingly beautiful, and lays out the key leitmotifs very effectively. Alan Menken may not be as great as Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman or James Newton Howard, but he's got a style that shaped a lot of '90s Disney films and is quite underrated.
