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Defying Gravity


Okay so Wicked is A-MAZING.  And I mean just amazing!  I haven't even gotten the pleasure of seeing performed yet but I have the soundtrack memorized and this past summer my redheads got to go see it FRONT ROW and go backstage to meet some of the cast!  Just by following the soundtrack I have been able to piece together the main story and I love the perspective!  I have the actual book on my "to do reading list" because I know I would love it. 

I have a lot of fave songs from the show.  And Defying Gravity is one of them.  I admit I feel uninspired today so I asked my good friend Stephanie, the one who suggested I do a song a day, for her most recent fave song and she said it was Defying Gravity sung by the cast of Glee.  So for your listening pleasure I have included both the cast of Glee and the cast of Wicked singing the song. 

I love this song because of, well you guessed it, the lyrics! :)  This song is a turning point and a defining moment for Elphaba (who becomes the Wicked Witch) and Glinda (who becomes the Good Witch).  Elphaba has just met the Wizard for the first time and immediately has her hopes, dreams, and expectations dashed by who he really is.  He is not who she had built him up to be in her mind for so many years.  And for so many years Elphaba has been playing by the rules of everyone else's lives, seeking acceptance, seeking purpose.  She thought the Wizard could and would help and she is devastated when he rejects her.  So this song is her declaration that she has woken up, she has realized that she can't allow herself to be defined by others, she needs to be who she was made to be, follow her heart and her instincts.  It's a turning point in the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba because they both have similar goals and passions but very different ideas on how to reach them and through the meeting of the Wizard they both choose different paths. 

This song is empowering to me.  A lot of times in my life I have let other people define me and then I have tried to live up to their definitions or change their definitions, depending on what they have said about me.  In the past few months God has been showing me how to defy gravity and soar within HIS definition of me.  It's a hard process but I think, like Elphaba found out, it's going to be worth it to be true to who I REALLY am.

Defying Gravity (Glee Cast)
Defying Gravity (Wicked Cast)

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