"God Help the Outcasts" is a song from Disney's 1996 animated feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The soft ballad was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and recorded by American singer and actress Heidi Mollenhauer in her film role as the singing voice of Esmeralda for a scene inside Notre Dame after she sees how Quasimodo and her people are treated by Frollo and his people. After finishing singing the song a parishioner confronts Quasimodo mistakingly thinking he's causing trouble in which Quasimodo accidentally knocks over a candlestaff and flees back to the bell tower. Esmeralda sees this, terrified at what the parishioner has done and follows Quasimodo. The parishioner then attempted to prevent her and Djali from following him, but the Archdeacon intervenes and prevents him from proceeding any further.
It replaced another song, "Someday", which was cut when the directors wanted a quieter song in a cathedral. A pop version of "Someday", with slightly altered lyrics, is performed over the movie's credits. A pop cover of "God Help the Outcasts" was recorded by American entertainer Bette Midler and is featured on the film's soundtrack, though it is not used in the movie itself. It is 3:26 minutes long and Track 16 - the final track The film version is track 5 on the film soundtrack and is 3:45 minutes long. Extra voices were provided by Brian Cummings, Debi Mae West, and Lisa Russo.
Production[]
The song was adapted for the German stage version of the animated film, known as Der Glöckner von Notre Dame. Stephen Schwartz said "the scene...with all its candles and projected recreation of Notre Dame, I thought was absolutely stunning".
Stephen Schwartz explains that "The song 'Someday' was originally written for the Disney animated feature THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME as a possible replacement for the song 'God Help the Outcasts'. Ultimately, we went with the other song instead", though adds that "since everybody liked 'Someday' as well, it was then used as an end title credit for the film". While both songs find a home in the musical version ("in the stage version, 'Someday' is used towards the end, when Esmeralda is being led to execution"), in the film, both songs took place at the same point in time - "Esmeralda's first entrance into Notre Dame cathedral [where she is both] awed by the serenity and splendor of the place [and] brings with her a bitter and acute awareness of the injustice of her situation and that of her people and the less fortunate of society in general".
Lyrics[]
Esmeralda:
I don't know if You can hear me
Or if You're even there
I don't know if You would listen
To a gypsy's prayer
Yes, I know I'm just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to You
Still, I see Your face and wonder
Were You once an outcast, too?
God help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They don't find on earth
God help my people
We look to You, still
God help the outcasts
Or nobody will
Parishioners:
I ask for wealth
I ask for fame
I ask for glory to shine on my name
I ask for love I can possess
I ask for God and His angels to bless me
Esmeralda:
I ask for nothing
I can get by
But I know so many
Less lucky than I
Please help my people
The poor and downtrod
I thought we all were
The children of God
God help the outcasts
Children of God
Esmeralda:
I don't know if You can hear me
Or if You're even there
I don't know if You would listen
To a gypsy's prayer
Yes, I know I'm just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to You
Still, I see Your face and wonder
Were You once an outcast, too?
God help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They don't find on Earth
God help my people
They look to You, still
God help the outcasts
Or nobody will
Quasimodo:
God help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They don't find on Earth
Parishioners:
I ask for wealth
I ask for fame
I ask for glory to shine on my name
I ask for love I can possess
I ask for God and His angels to bless me
Esmeralda:
I ask for nothing
I can get by
But I know so many
Less lucky than I
Please help my people
The poor and downtrod
I thought we all were
The children of God
Quasimodo:
God help the outcasts
Esmeralda:
God help the outcasts
Children of God
Quasimodo:
Children of God
Esmeralda / Quasimodo
Children of God
I don't know if You can hear me
Or if You're even there
I don't know if You will listen
To a humble prayer
They tell me I am just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to You
Still, I see Your face and wonder
Were You once an outcast, too?
God help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They don't find on Earth
The lost and forgotten
They look to you, still
God help the outcasts
Or nobody will
I ask for nothing
I can get by
But I know so many
Less lucky than I
God help the outcasts
The poor and downtrod
I thought we all were
Children of God
I don't know if there's a reason
Why some are blessed, some not
Why the few you seem to favor
They fear us, flee us, try not to see us
God help the outcasts
The tired, the torn
Seeking an answer
To why they were born
Winds of misfortune
Have blown them about
You made the outcasts
Don't cast them out
The poor and unlucky
The weak and the odd
I thought we all were
The children of God
Critical reception[]
The New York Times said "The score, with lively music... and nicely agile lyrics, soars to sanctimonious heights with the lifting, catchy power ballad God Help the Outcasts", and added that it was "a sure thing for next year's Oscar show". Unfortunately, none of the songs from Hunchback were nominated the Academy Award for best original song.
Going Home to Heaven called the song "a bolder stroke than [the Disney team] had ever done before", and says that the messages of this piece, along with Hunchback songs like "Sanctuary" and "The Bells of Notre Dame" are "very powerful".
Trivia[]
- During the song, the people who pray for things for themselves are shown in a darker part of the church, while, in the end, Esmeralda is an area that shines with light from the outside. This could be seen as God listening solely to Esmeralda.
Gallery[]
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The article or pieces of the original article was at God Help the Outcasts. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Disney Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
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