For this week’s entry for #MusicForSteem, I chose our selection. The song is “All That Matters” from the musical Finding Neverland (I’ll give more information about the song itself later on).
Choosing the Song
This choice is definitely a shift from the previous two songs that @cmp2020 and I have performed. We went from a six-minute song with a driving piano part to a three-minute song with more basic accompaniment. We went from throwbacks to a song from the last ten years. We went from classic rock to musical theater. We went from household names to unknown.
Not only did I choose this song to mix things up a bit, but I also had wanted to sing this song as my senior solo for my spring choir concert. Every year for our spring choral concert, seniors are given the opportunity to have their own solo song in the program. I have been looking forward to my senior solo for years. As a senior in the Class of 2020, things didn’t exactly go as planned this spring. With the precautions taken over the pandemic, I didn’t get to have a spring choral concert or a senior solo. Performing this song this week is special to me because it is my chance to have my senior solo in some form.
But enough introduction to the song! Here is the recording of our song followed by lyrics:
There are days when I feel so afraid
I can hardly remember to breathe
When reality crashes in wave after wave
Pulling me further beneathSo what's the point in planning for a future
If it all can be stolen away?
It's all I can do to hold on and survive
When the colors have faded to gray
But my children need so much more from me
And they give me the strength to go on
Whatever may comeAll that matters now
Is where I go from here
There's an easier way if I live for today
The beating of my heart
Is all that mattersHe makes sense of all of my chaos
In ways I could never explain
He turns all of my sadness into a smile
He's helping me live life againIt's the light in the eyes of my children
It's the sound of their laughter once more
It's a glimpse of a life I dared only to dream
And a dream only life could restore
And I know that some may not understand
But he's guiding me safely to shore
Not afraid anymoreAll that matters now
Is where I go from here
There's an easier way if I live for today
The singing in my heart
Is all that matters
It takes me far away
There's an easier way if I live for today
The singing in my heart
Is all that matters
About the Song
As I said before, this song is from the musical Finding Neverland. It is an adaptation of the “Academy Award-winning film of the same name” (according to the musical’s official website) which had starred Johnny Depp (J.M. Barrie) and Kate Winslet (Sylvia Llewelyn Davies). The original Broadway cast starred Matthew Morrison and Laura Michelle Kelly in the respective roles as Depp and Winslet. The musical is based on playwright J.M. Barrie and his journey to writing the beloved classic Peter Pan. Barrie meets Sylvia, a recently widowed mother, and her four boys. Through Sylvia and her children, Barrie is reminded of the power of imagination which allows him to defy standards of the time and write Peter Pan (with many characters inspired by people in his life, including the children). The song “All That Matters” is performed by Sylvia in the first act. Since her husband died, Sylvia had been struggling to make herself and her children happy. However, after she meets J.M. Barrie and he bonds with her children, she finds her spirit once again.
I first heard the music from Finding Neverland when I saw it performed on its National Tour in the fall of 2017. My parents had recently decided to purchase season tickets for National Tour performances of Broadway productions, and Finding Neverland would be the first show for which we had tickets. I immediately fell in love with the musical, and it remains one of my favorites. After listening to the soundtrack on repeat following the show, I particularly loved “All That Matters.” Not only am I a sucker for ballads, but I also find the song uplifting and empowering. Sylvia has done her best for her children even when she felt hopeless. It is her love for her children and the reminder of imagination’s power that allow her to find her strength again.
Since then (my sophomore year of high school), I knew that I wanted to sing “All That Matters” as my senior solo. I am so glad to have found a way to still perform the song this spring!
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this! I hope you enjoy this song (and maybe feel inspired to listen to the rest of the soundtrack). #MusicForSteem has been a wonderful opportunity and experience for me and @cmp2020. Next week will be his choice of song so look out for it!