Part of Your World

Song Facts:

• Track Name: "Part of Your World"


• Artist: Jodi Benson


• Album/Film: The Little Mermaid soundtrack


• Genre: Film Soundtrack, Musical Theatre


• Release Date: 1989


• Composers: Alan Menken


• Lyricist: Howard Ashman

Analysis:

Part of Your World: If "Part of Your World" from Disney's "The Little Mermaid," sung by Jodi Benson, was just another pretty song, it might still be considered memorable, but much more is going on here.

Summarily, this ballad clearly sums up a pretty strong desire in Ariel to learn more of the human world above the sea; hence, she shows curiosity and ambition on a borderline, contrasting the world under the water.

First and foremost, it is worth mentioning that Ariel starts the song by making reflections about what the source of her dissatisfaction might be. She has "gadgets and gizmos a-plenty," which is material wealth and abundance referred to, but they do not satisfy what she holds inside: spirit for adventure and discovery in the human world. Ariel's longing "to be where the people are" and the greater fascination with human artifacts might be regarded as a longing for place—items placed where they belong contextually.

That's an ache which pierces through to more universals in the condition of Ariel, at reaching for anybody who has ever felt out of place or longed for another life.

Her innocence and idealistic view on the world of humans are seen in the romanticized dreams of even walking, dancing, and living in the sun. Though from these dreams, readiness for determination and even sacrifice in them for her aspiration, "What would I give if I could live out of these waters?"

The song structure, with Jodi Benson on performance, sends the emotional depth of the song to a new level. The point where Ariel starts asking about the fire and why it has to burn is used to represent a question asked by a curious mind; hence, it creates an emphasis on the barriers that exist between her world and the one she longs to join by asking. "Part of Your World" is a quintessential Disney anthem of longing, discovery, and the pursuit of one's dreams. It well brings to the fore who Ariel is: curious, brave, and perhaps charting her way in unfamiliar waters—against all the odds stacked up so high. Through this song, Ariel becomes an emblem to that search of belonging and identity of home, rather than themes that never grow old.