What is the meaning of the song I See the Light?

"I See the Light" is the love theme from Disney's 2010 animated feature film, Tangled. Written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater, it is a down-tempo love ballad that combines elements of folk, musical theatre and pop music, as performed by Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

Contents

  • 1 Summary
  • 2 Lyrics
  • 3 Gallery
  • 4 Videos
  • 5 Trivia
  • 6 External Links

Summary

Rapunzel's dream to see the "floating lights" was finally fulfilled with the help of Flynn Rider. That evening, Flynn rowed Rapunzel out in a small dinghy to the middle of an adjacent lake to get a good view of the lantern release. Later on, both she and Flynn release their own lanterns into the sky. Now that she has finally realized her dream, she discovers that she wants to pursue a relationship with Flynn. Meanwhile, Flynn realizes that his previous dream of becoming rich was nearsighted, and they both find that their new dream is each other.

 

“I See the Light” from Tangled – #23 from “The Top 50 Disney Songs” (2014)

Tangled features an innovative style of computer animation, meant to evoke the aesthetic of rococo oil paintings. Every frame abounds with lush detail, but, with the amalgamated eye-poppingness of tall ships, still waters, castle spires, and ten thousand glowing lanterns taking flight, “I See the Light” is in a league all its own. The sequence provides some of the most breathtaking visuals in an animated feature to date…and the song itself ain’t too bad neither. The double-meaning tune has Rapunzel seeing the very literal light of the lanterns she has long-yearned to experience up close, and “seeing the light” in the sense of realizing her growing feelings for Flynn. Flynn has the same “enlightening” epiphany regarding his own feelings, and all this “light-seeing” makes for an unforgettable moment which ranks among Disney’s most romantic. But I do have one question: Why did Mother Gothel tell Rapunzel her birthday was the same day as the lantern ceremony? Gothel literally could’ve picked any day of the year to assign as Rapunzel’s “birthday,” and avoided a whole lot of questions.

Dan’s take:

Another absolutely outstanding opinion by Brian. His spirited tribute to the ballad from the excellent Tangled challenged me to re-listen to it with open ears, and it’s become a favorite Disney song of mine since. I particularly love his attention to the visuals of the scene: It’s a stunning moment.

If you want to fall even more in love with the song, watch its adorable voice actors, Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (aka Chuck) recording their vocal parts.

(Brian’s got a point about the birthday plot hole, though… I suppose it was a symbolic choice that resonated with Gothel and she assumed Rapunzel would never escape? Maybe keeping Rapunzel psychically linked to the trauma of her kidnapping somehow makes her hair magic even more powerful? Just speculating.)

Talking about the impact this song had on Rundgren's songwriting, he said: "I wrote this song in 15 minutes from start to finish. It was one of the reason that caused me to change my style of writing. It doesn't matter how clever a song is - if it's written in 15 minutes, it is such a string of clichés that it just doesn't have lasting impact for me. And for me, the greatest disappointment in the world is not being able to listen to my own music and enjoy it."

  • This was the first song on the album. According to the liner notes of Something/Anything?, Rundgren thought it would be a hit, so he placed it first just like Motown used to do with their records.

  • The 45 RPM single was pressed on blue vinyl.

  • Rundgren learned piano on his own, which gave him a nontraditional approach to the instrument. When he wrote this song, he was doing what came naturally, moving his hands up and down the keyboard. As he did it, he came up with very simple lyrics, letting one line flow into another without thinking about it at all:

    It was late last night
    I was feeling something wasn't right

    Rundgren knew the song had hit potential, which he later learned can often come by keeping things simple. "Sometimes when these things just come spilling out, I've found, sometimes they have a more broad appeal to the average listener than if you're trying to do something impressive," he told Red Bull Music Academy during a 2013 talk. "I thought, 'This is a real simple, straight-ahead, easy-to-understand song. I'll pretend it's a single and I'll put it first on the record."

  • This was used in the TV shows Six Feet Under, Beavis and Butthead and That '70s Show. The song was also used in the movies Kingpin and My Girl.

  • Rundgren wrote this song, produced it, sang it and played all the instruments on it.

  • Todd states that after the release of Something/Anything he evolved as an artist and reached beyond writing about love and relationships. He states that he'd been using a brief relationship from high school as song fodder, throwing around the word "love" cheaply, and he began to feel strange about it. It inspired him to dig deeper for new material.

  • Rundgren re-recorded this with The New Cars after joining the band. It appears on their 2006 album It's Alive!

  • There is barely any chorus on this song - it's almost entirely verses and bridge. The chorus is just either "In your eyes" or "In my head" repeated twice.

  • The following year, another song using lots of "ite" rhymes hit the charts: "Dancing In The Moonlight" by King Harvest. In that one, the end of ever line ends in a rhyme for "light."

  • Louise Goffin covered this for the 2022 Todd Rundgren tribute album Someone/Anyone?, the brainchild of Echo In The Canyon producer Fernando Perdomo. Net profits from sales of the album benefit Rundgren's Spirit Of Harmony foundation, which supports music education.

    What is the meaning behind I See the Light?

    phrase. If someone sees the light, they finally realize something or change their attitude or way of behaving to a better one. I saw the light and ditched him.

    What is the meaning of the song I See the Light Tangled?

    Lyrically, "I See the Light" describes the developing romantic relationship between Rapunzel and Flynn, and is featured as the seventh track on the film's soundtrack album.

    What is the genre of the song I See the Light?

    "I See the Light" is the love theme from Disney's 2010 animated feature film, Tangled. Written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater, it is a down-tempo love ballad that combines elements of folk, musical theatre and pop music, as performed by Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

    Who sang Rapunzel in Tangled?

    Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi (Ost. Tangled/Rapunzel) - I See The Light - YouTube.