BMM 11 - All I Ask of You

No more talk of darkness
Forget these wide-eyed fears
I'm here
Nothing can harm you
My words will warm and calm you 

Let me be your freedom
Let daylight dry your tears
I'm here
With you, beside you
To guard you and to guide you

Say you love me every waking moment
Turn my head with talk of summertime
Say you need me with you
Now and always
Promise me that all you say is true
That's all I ask of you 

Let me be your shelter
Let me be your light
You're safe
No one will find you
Your fears are far behind you 

All I want is freedom
A world with no more night
And you, always beside me
To hold me and to hide me 

Then say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Let me lead you from your solitude
Say you need me with you here, beside you
Anywhere you go, let me go too
That's all I ask of you 

Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Say the word and I will follow you
Share each day with me
Each night, each morning
Say you love me
You know I do
Love me
That's all I ask of you 

Anywhere you go, let me go too
Love me
That's all I ask of you 

From Wikipedia: "All I Ask of You" is a song from the 1986 English musical The Phantom of the Opera, between characters Christine Daaé and Raoul, originally played on stage by Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton, respectively. It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe, and solely produced by Lloyd Webber. An operatic pop piece, its lyrics serve as dialogue between the two characters and discuss themes such as commitment and romance. Like Lloyd Webber's song "The Music of the Night," "All I Ask of You" was compared to the music found in Giacomo Puccini's 1910 opera La fanciulla del West. 

Author and music historian Ethan Mordden stated that the song contains "lyrical magnificence" and noted that its brilliance helped it "accomplish wonderful things" on stage. The song was described as one of the biggest and most commercially successful hits from The Phantom of the Opera by the staff at Show Music.

"All I Ask of You" was commercially successful in several territories internationally. In the United Kingdom, it became Richard's 52nd top ten single by peaking at number three on 4 October 1986. Its success allowed it to be listed on the year-end chart in that country, where it was ranked at number 31. The song was later certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry on 1 October 1986 for shipments of 250,000 physical copies. It topped the Irish Singles Chart for one week, replacing Status Quo's cover of "In the Army Now" (1986). The song reached the same peak in South Africa on the country's Springbok Radio chart, while in Australia, it peaked at number 24, according to the Kent Music Report.

My own thoughts: Although I haven't yet made up my mind about this musical, I have listened to a couple of the songs, including this one, and I like them. I especially like the duet between Susan Boyle and Donny Osmond.

I can easily hear a platonic version between some of my own characters, mainly between Reid, Beowulf, and the Windwillows. Since Beowulf is a werewolf and must avoid the sunlight at all times, this lyric is particularly fitting: "All I want is freedom, a world with no more night." When his path crosses with Reid's path, he gets his wish of being loved and being taken seriously at the same time. That's what cracks his tough shell for good.

And all Reid wants is to love the Windwillows, something they're a little too afraid and too proud to give him at first. But that's all they ever ask, too, to be loved and wanted and respected. Not everyone hates them, but a lot of people have given them a hard time for a whole host of reasons, so it kind of makes sense that they're reluctant to trust Reid wholeheartedly.

The sad irony is, Reid has always respected them, wanted them, and loved them with no strings attached, and they realize (almost too late) that they've always loved him as well and can't bear to lose him. Jonathan was the first one (and the only one at first) to take a chance on Reid and he's never regretted his decision yet.

I think being loved and understood is all everyone ever asks.