BMM 16 - When I Grow Up

When I grow up,
I will be tall enough to reach the branches
That I need to reach to climb the trees
You get to climb when you're grown up  

And when I grow up,
I will be smart enough to answer
All the questions that you need to know
The answers to before you're grown up 

And when I grow up,
I will eat sweets every day
On the way to work
And I will go to bed late every night  

And I will wake up
When the sun comes up
And I will watch cartoons
Until my eyes go square
And I won't care
'Cause I'll be all grown up

When I grow up
When I grow up
When I grow up
When I grow up
I will be strong enough to carry
All the heavy things you have to haul around with you
When you're a grown-up 

And when I grow up,
When I grow up,
When I grow up,
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
That you have to fight beneath the bed
Each night to be a grown-up 

And when I grow up
(When I grow up)
I will have treats every day
And I'll play with things that Mum pretends
That mums don't think are fun

And I will wake up
(I will wake up)
When the sun comes up
And I will spend all day just lying in the sun
And I won't burn
'Cause I'll be all grown-up
When I grow up

When I grow up
I will be brave enough to fight the creatures
That you have to fight beneath the bed
Each night to be a grown-up
When I grow up

Just because you find that life's not fair
It doesn't mean that you just have to grin and bear it
If you always take it on the chin and wear it,
Nothing will change
When I grow up

Just because I find myself in this story,
It doesn't mean that everything is written for me
If I think the ending is fixed already,
I might as well be saying
I think that it's okay
And that's not right!

From Wikipedia: "When I Grow Up" was the first song that Tim Minchin wrote for Matilda, attempting to find a tone for the entire musical, drawing inspiration from his child. He also drew inspiration from a childhood memory in which the adults on his grandfather's farm would fiddle with the padlock to a gate, whereas Minchin went out of his way to hurdle the gate, promising to himself to never open the farm gate. 

The song explains what it means to grow up. Even the adults feel they haven't yet grown up. New York Magazine notes that in the song, "they dream of being old enough to handle the burdens that life, with its rude sense of humor, has already given them."

The New York Times writes, "Matilda’s schoolmates sing of a time when they’ll be strong enough to carry the burdens forced upon them and to flush out monsters from under the bed. Grown-ups know that some burdens crush even the broadest shoulders, that there will always be some kind of monster to worry about, and that happy endings are at best only provisional. They say that they can do whatever they want when they are grown up."

My own thoughts: I've heard plenty about Matilda, though I've yet to see the musical, watch the movie, or even read the book.

I do like Roald Dahl, and I find the premise of Matilda's story quite intriguing. I appreciate the overall message, about how children are often smarter than they're given credit for, how a family is more about love than biological connections, and of course, it's mighty satisfying to see a truly despicable villain get their just rewards. 

I also like characters who manage to stay sweet and kind in times of hardship, how they have plenty of legitimate struggles but they always find some way to get back up. Matilda sounds a lot like James from James and the Giant Peach, and I definitely read and liked that story. 

Speaking of James, I sort of entertain the thought that he and Matilda end up marrying each other. They sound like they'd be a perfect fit.

So, what convinced me to illustrate a song for this musical? Well, I was browsing popular Broadway songs (I actually don't know that many, believe it or not) and this was included on the list. I decided to give it a try, and when I listened to it through Amazon Music, I liked it.