In the 48th edition of Music Lifts (2023), weโre uplifted by Helen Reddy performing, โCandle on the Water.โ
Welcome to Music Lifts
, a column that seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity. Featured songs arenโt genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better โ be LIFTED to new heights! So, for the 48th edition of Music Lifts
(2023), we highlight
โCandle on the Waterโ as performed by
Helen Reddy.
โIโll be your candle on the water / My love for you will always burn.โ Disney is known for many, many classic songs. Among the most beautiful and most memorable is
โCandle on the Waterโ from the 1977 film,
Peteโs Dragon. The late, great
Helen Reddy (1941 โ 2020), who portrays Nora in the film, sings this dedicated ballad, stunningly. The situation is, in the context of the film, isnโt great for Nora (her fiancรฉ, Paul, is lost at sea), but she expresses love and support, encouraging, โBut the clouds are lifting / Donโt give up, you have somewhere to turn.โ
Reddy โ well โ Nora, is undoubtedly a candle, telling Paul, โMy soul is there beside you / Let this candle guide you / Soon youโll see a golden stream of light.โ What truly stands out about the songwriting is the messaging โ the faith that Nora shows. The pen of
Joel Hirschhorn and Al Kasha is magnificent, particularly in the bridge section. โA cold and friendless tide has found you / Donโt let the stormy darkness pull you down,โ she sings in encouraging, hopeful, and resolute fashion. She continues, โIโll paint a ray of hope around you / Circling in the air / Lighted by a prayer
.โ Good stuff!
โCandle on the Waterโ makes you think about who your candle on the water is. Is it that special somebody in your life, or, is it a higher power, like God? Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Hirschhorn/Kasha gem lost to another dedicated, inspired gem,
โYou Light Up My Lifeโ.
Various Artists โข
Peteโs Dragon โข
Disney โข
1977
Helen Reddy, Candle on the Water: Music Lifts
No. 48 (2023) [
: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Disney; cottonbro studio, Itzel Sandoval, Neeraj Nagdeve via Pexels]