This song is from the award-winning film “The Greatest Showman†starring Hugh Jackman, who portrays a fictionalized version of the life of circus manager, P.T. Barnum. The song is a duet sung from the perspectives of Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) and Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). It takes on the form of a love ballad. Phillip is an investor in Barnum’s circus and is a white man coming from a wealthy family. Meanwhile Anne is an African- American trapeze artist who performs in the circus. The song portrays the love they have for each other and the obstacles that they face. “You know I want you It's not a secret I try to hide I know you want me So don't keep sayin' our hands are tied You claim it's not in the cards And fate is pullin' you miles away And out of reach from me But you're here in my heart So who can stop me if I decide That you're my destiny?†This first verse is sung by Phillip. He proclaims his love for Anne and knows that the attraction is mutual. He knows why Anne is vary of their presumed relationship due to their differences in family background and race, especially in a time in the USA, where racism was still rampant. He talks of fate as society pulling her away, but as the typical male, he proclaims he will decide his fate, not destiny. “What if we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine Nothing could keep us apart You'd be the one I was meant to find It's up to you, and it's up to me No one can say what we get to be So why don't we rewrite the stars? Maybe the world could be ours Tonight†He talks about rewriting the stars, meaning changing the impossible. He keeps expressing that the stars aren’t to decide who they will be, but it’s actually him and her. He’s adamant in his view that she was destined to be his. He would rewrite the laws of society for her to be his. The last two sentences talks about his wish for them to be together, irrespective of the world, at least for tonight. “You think it's easy You think I don't wanna run to you But there are mountains And there are doors that we can't walk through I know you're wondering why because we're able to be Just you and me within these walls But when we go outside, you're gonna wake up and see That it was hopeless after all†This verse is by Anne. She admonishes him for being a fairy-tale dreamy lover, ignorant of the real world. She tells him that her feelings are sincere but there are mountains and doors between their love, namely his parents and society as a whole. She tells him to take his head away from the clouds and have his feet on the ground. Though they are free of trouble within the safety of the walls of the circus, their love is hopeless outside. She criticises him for having grown up in luxury, ignorant of the real world. “No one can rewrite the stars How can you say you'll be mine? Everything keeps us apart And I'm not the one you were meant to find It's not up to you It's not up to me When everyone tells us what we can be How can we rewrite the stars? Say that the world can be ours Tonight†A fascinating literary technique by the songwriter is the contrast and antonymous articulation of the verses when sung by the two different people. The words are only rearranged a little bit, yet they convey completely opposite meanings. She talks about how futile it is to rewrite the norms of society i.e. rewriting the stars. She asks what reasons and justification he has to exclaim such a statement. It’s not his choice or her choice. Everyone else has already told them that a rich white man and a poor black woman can’t be together. “All I want is to fly with you All I want is to fall with you So just give me all of you It feels impossible It's not impossible Is it impossible? Say that it's possible†This verse is a harmony sung by both. They exclaim their feelings for each other: Their wish to fly and fall with one another. Then the lyrics transition line by line: from feeling impossible, to questioning whether it’s impossible, to saying that is possible. It was a stroke of genius to include this as a harmony as it coincides with the subconscious emotional agreement of Phillip and Anne. “How do we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine? Nothing can keep us apart 'Cause you are the one I was meant to find It's up to you And it's up to me No one can say what we get to be And why don't we rewrite the stars? Changing the world to be ours†The harmony continues, fuelled by pure raw emotion, love and impulse. Despite the thousand challenges outside, for the few seconds of this verse, they are in emotional synchronisation. They affirm their wish to do the impossible, to rewrite the stars, to change the world for themselves. “You know I want you It's not a secret I try to hide But I can't have you We're bound to break and my hands are tied†This final verse is a solo by Anne in a melancholy tone. She wakes up from her brief temporary rapture of love and hope and falls back to Earth and reality. The final two lines are one of regret, propositioning that their love will be a failed venture, while in the music video, she silently walks away. The lyrics are well supplemented by the vocal chemistry and raw talent of the singers, Zac Efron and Zendaya showing impeccable vocal range and emotion. Throughout the track, Efron's vocal range spans from the low note of Eâ™3 to the high note of Bâ™4, and Zendaya's vocal range spans from the low note of Eâ™3 to the high note of Eâ™5. It’s a ballad that starts with doubt, peaks in a brief period of romantic rupture and concludes on a melancholy realistic note. I would recommend one to listen to this song along with the music video, which is part of the film, as Efron and Zendaya engage in a perfectly choreographed trapeze act with aptly designed moves of repulsion, attraction and chemistry. The whole song is one big debate. This author would like to conclude this review with a few thoughts on forbidden love. It’s an argument between the heart and the mind, an argument between fantasy and reality, an argument between honesty and theatrics. The film concludes with Anne and Phillip finding true love at the end, but how many of us turn down love in favour of logic? Humans are funny creatures: we try to justify our actions, yet our emotions tell us otherwise. Dear reader, I hope that someday, you too, can rewrite the stars and find happiness with your Phillip Carlyle or your Anne Wheeler.
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