It is the opening sequence of The Muppet Movie. The singer appears a little green, well really very green as he plays his banjo and sings one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard. The voice is weirdly compelling, despite the fact that it is clearly a “put-on” or character voice. The melody is alternately complex and whimsical as it slides through some unexpected changes, yet it is fully simple enough for one to sing along with, even upon first hearing. Then there is the lyric. What a lyric!

Dispassionately the song begins by giving a brief, bottom-line, somewhat scientific description of a physical weather phenomenon – rainbows. It concludes by demonstrating the emotional impact produced when our spirits dance in the refracted light of a seemingly magical event. The writer, as evidenced by the lyric, chooses the latter experience.

The song suggests a subjective and spiritual approach to awareness, an awareness filled with wishes, disembodied voices, and connections to the intangible. All the while, the journey is light and totally charming.

Finally, there is something that resembles a faith-filled plea: “Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.” I am a scientist by early training, but I am a dreamer by temperament. I too look for the bridge connecting the known and the “sensed”, the moment when mists clear away and we see that it was all one experience after all. — Bob Tatum

Rainbow Connection

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
and what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard
and answered when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it.
Look what it’s done so far.
What’s so amazing that keeps us star gazing
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell. We know that it’s probably magic.

Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.
The voice might be one and the same.
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it.
It’s something that I’m supposed to be.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
By Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher

Sound Traveler has just completed another busy week. We played at the Indian River Festival, and we led the music and the 10:30 service of Faith Lutheran Church in Merritt Island. We have the Barberville Folk Festival coming up this weekend and a wedding coming up the following weekend. Check our schedule for details.

To add your own ideas about the blog, click on the title, scroll down, and share.

6 Comments to “SongTravelin’: 04.11.11 Science, Songs, and Rainbows”

• April 11, 2011 at 8:30 am
  Jacques says:

  Why can’t people realize that physical phenomena are neither positive nor negative? They exist independent of any person’s experience of them. Rainbows can be explained in terms of frequencies of light, the presence of fine rain drops, and the angle at which the light encounters the drops. The fact that we make up stories or songs about them says something about people, not about any real connection that exists between people and physical phenomena.
• April 11, 2011 at 8:35 am
  Naomi says:

  I love this song<3
• April 11, 2011 at 10:47 am
  Art says:

  It is the dreamer in us that creates the beauty that we precieve. Without dreams we are less than human.
• April 11, 2011 at 11:30 am
  Bob says:

  Thanks, Art. That is beautifully expressed.
• April 11, 2011 at 3:15 pm
  Patty says:

  Well, I’m not as sophisticated as Bob or Jacques, so I’ll just agree with Naomi: I love this song. Always have, always will. It reminds me of high school, because my group was “Muppet Crazy” and we learned most of the songs from The Muppet Movie. When Bob & I started working on the song, I still remembered all of the words. I’m glad we’re working on this one!
• May 10, 2011 at 1:18 pm
  Gaucho says:

  Some genuinely prize posts on this web site, bookmarked