I Will Go Sailing No More

Genre: Disney

Artist: Randy Newman

Album: Toy Story

Poor Buzz Lightyear... A lot of the comedy in the movie revolves around Buzz's vision of who he is. He sees himself as a hero with a special mission to save the universe. Woody screams at him, yelling the truth into his face, but Buzz is not deterred. It is not until he sees a commercial, reality slapping him harshly across the face, that he begins to realize that his ambitions are nothing. Still unable to face reality, he jumps from the top of the stairs to prove he can fly, only to find himself crashing to the floor. His broken arm is but a symbol of his broken heart and broken dreams, as he consigns himself to a life he views as meaningless.

I also have high ambitions for my life. With my dreams, I almost feel like I can fly, until my dreams are shot down. Sometimes people don't believe in me. Other times people let me down. Oftentimes, like Buzz, I feel that I have a "dream that ended too soon." When reality slaps me across the face, I think to myself that "I will go sailing no more. All the things I thought I'd be, all the brave things I'd done, vanished like a snowflake with the rising of the sun. Never more to sail my ship where no man has gone before...and I will go sailing no more."

But even though my dreams are sometimes crushed and I am left empty and broken, I still rise from the ground, determined to prove that I really can fly. I just can't seem to accept that "clearly I will go sailing no more." Fortunately, Buzz eventually pulled himself together. Defying all odds, he eventually flew, soaring in the sky where he belonged, but with a new realization that the place he really belongs is where he is loved.

Wherever You Are

Genre: Disney
Artist: No clue.
Album: Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin

This song is so sad to me, but it's still one of my favorites. Winnie the Pooh and his friends have been searching long and hard for Christopher Robin with no success. One night, Pooh wanders away from his friends to the empty, cold night sky. There, all alone, he sings, "Come out, moon. Come out, wishing star . . . I'm out here in the dark, all alone and wide awake. Come and find me." He sings to Christopher Robin, pleading for him to come to him, "because without you I am totally lost." He finally comes to the sad conclusion, "I used to believe in forever, but forever's too good to be true."

This very sad song touches me every time I hear it. I can relate to Pooh's loneliness. I have gone through many times in my life when I have felt alone. The worst is when I feel alone, even though I am surrounded by people. It especially reminds me of the times when I had something beautiful, something I thought would last forever. I think of those times when I have felt the most happy and content . . . that feeling that I have finally found what I have searched for all my life. But, as Pooh says, "Forever's too good to be true." Those moments always end. And when they are ended, the loneliness returns, the loneliness that is only too real for the Wishmaster.