"The Rainbow Connection" is a song originally written for The Muppet Movie and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1979. It is sung by Kermit the Frog as the movie's opening number and reprised by the whole cast of Muppets at the end of the movie, but with slightly different lyrics. The song was also released as a single and reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979.
It was also ranked #74 on the list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs, along with Disney songs "When You Wish Upon a Star" (#7), "Someday My Prince Will Come" (#19), "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (#36), "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (#47) "Beauty and the Beast" (#62), and "Hakuna Matata" (#99).
In The Muppets at Walt Disney World, a young Raven-Symoné sings the song to cheer up Kermit. It's also referenced later when Kermit tells Mickey Mouse that a saying the Muppets have is "Someday we'll find the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me".
The song is featured twice in 2011's The Muppets. The song is first performed by the Moopets, a Muppets tribute band performing at a casino in Reno, with Fozzie Bear on lead vocals. The lyrics are changed to glorify the casino in which the Moopets perform. The song is later performed in full by Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the cast of The Muppet Show at the Muppet Theater in Hollywood during the Muppet Telethon.
The song is referenced twice in the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted. When the Muppet tour stops in Madrid, Constantine is shown scrolling through footage from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and other previous Muppet movies to study Kermit's mannerisms and voice to better impersonate him. Eventually, he comes across a snippet of the Muppet Movie version of the song. Because of Constantine's poor English, he misinterprets the line "the lovers, the dreamers, and me" as "the lovers, the dreamers, and cheese". Later, during the Interrogation Song, Constantine (still posing as Kermit) claims he sang "The Rainbow Connection" during the Berlin show.
It was sung by Kermit during the credits of The Muppets. episode "Pig's in a Blackout".
On March 24, 2021, the song was added to "The National Recording Registry".[1]
Lyrics[]
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 stargazing
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 calls 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
La, da, da, di, da, da, do
Da, da, da, da, da, di, da, do
In 2011's The Muppets, Fozzie Bear and the Moopets perform a rendition of the song with altered lyrics about the Pechoolo Casino.
Later on in the movie, the Muppets sing the regular version of the song as the final act of the Muppet Telethon, but they soon realize that they still have time for one more act.
Fozzie Bear:
Why are there such great deals on our hotel room?
And continental breakfast is free
The Moopets:
Breakfast is free
Fozzie Bear:
HBO in every room
And free gas if you check in after noon
Free parking for cars, not RVs
The Moopets:
Not RVs
Fozzie Bear:
Our wedding chapel is 24 hours
No marriage certificate is needed
The Moopets:
No marriage certificate is needed
Fozzie Bear:
We're glad you found it, Pechoolo Casino
The owners, the Moopets and me
Cha cha cha
[spoken] Thank you! Thank you, you're a great audience!
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 stargazing
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Have you been half asleep? And have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name
Love is the sweet sound that called the young singers
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
Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
What's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions
Rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
Moi knows they're wrong, wait and 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
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
La, da, da, di, da, da, do
Da, da, da, da, da, di, da, do
Trivia[]
- For The Muppet Movie, while operating Kermit, Jim Henson had to perform underwater in a big metal tank with oxygen pumps (all apparatus were in the water pool used as part of the swamp set). There were rescue divers nearby in case of trouble. Steve Whitmire used a remote-control device to operate Kermit's hand while playing the banjo.
- On March 20, 1996, "The Rainbow Connection" was the basis of a bizarre crime in Wanganui, New Zealand. A twenty-one-year-old overly enthusiastic Muppet fan took a radio station manager hostage claiming to have a bomb and demanded to hear the song played nonstop on the air for the next twelve hours. Several buildings were evacuated due to the threat. When it was learned that the man had no bomb, police stormed the station and arrested him.
- I Love the '70s lists the song as Kermit's favorite.
- A rock 'n' roll cover of the song was played at the outtakes of the non-Disney movie Kermit's Swamp Years.
- In Jim Henson's childhood hometown of Leland, Mississippi, a local bridge was re-named "The Rainbow Connection," in his honor on September 24, 2011 (the day that would have been Henson's 75th birthday).
- In Muppets Most Wanted, while Constantine learns how to imitate Kermit, he watches Kermit performing "The Rainbow Connection" number in The Muppet Movie, and sings the line as "The lovers, the dreamers, and cheese".
Gallery[]
Video[]
References[]
- ↑ Schuessler, Jennifer (March 24, 2021). "Janet Jackson and Kermit the Frog Added to National Recording Registry" (Article). The New York Times.
