"Part of Your World"

For my first goal I am analyzing the songs from The Little Mermaid as they come up in the movie. The main songs I am interested in are “Part of Your World,” “Under the Sea,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” and “Kiss the Girl.”

When I analyze a song I break it down into music and lyrics first and then I look at how the lyrics relate to the music. I then look at how the music and lyrics relate to the story.

“Part of Your World” is the first song that Ariel sings. The music is melodic and flows like water, especially when played on piano. It is dynamic in that the music starts soft and gets loud. Ariel’s body language in “Part of Your World” reflects both the music and the lyrics. The lyrics are about herself and her desire to be a part of the human world. They express the driving conflict between King Triton and Ariel. Ariel really wants to be part of the human world, but her father wants her to stay under the sea. The song uses questions in the lyrics to show that she doesn’t know what the human world is like, but she wants to know. The song is reprised after Ariel saves Prince Eric. Slightly different lyrics change the meaning of the song, and it becomes a love song.

This exercise was helpful to me because it helped me see how the music relates to the lyrics.

~Maya S.