How Far I'll Go

Album

Funky Divas

Label

Walt Disney Records

Genre

Stage & Screen

Composer(s)

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Entered Chart

Dec 17, 2016

Peak Date

Feb 4, 2017

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

EP/EP

This bouncy ballad was written for the Disney animated movie Moana by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film is set in Polynesia and this tune is sung by its titular character, a young princess. It concerns her planned journey from the South Pacific island to save her people. If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me One day I'll know If I go there's just no telling how far I'll go The song is sung during the movie by Auli'i Cravalho, the actress playing Moana. Later Alessia Cara's version plays over the end credits. "So cool to be a part of @DisneyMoana," Alessia tweeted. "Such a killer story. thanks disney for letting me sing this song." Alessia Cara told ABC Radio that she was thrilled to sing a tune written by the Hamilton creator. "Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the song, which is incredible," she said. "So we Skype called and he just basically let me do kind of whatever I wanted with the song, and change it up to make it my own. And they ended up really liking it, so they put it at the end of the movie." Miranda described this to the BBC as "an 'I want' song" in the tradition of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World." "The first time I sat at my piano to work on it I said, 'Don't think about Let It Go!" laughed the composer. "But the job is to tell the truth about our characters and really make you feel about where they are in the journey, so you try to treat it as honestly as possible." Both Auli'i Cravalho and Alessia Cara's versions entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the week after the release of Moana. Auli'i Cravalho's version eventually peaked at #41 on the listing. Lin-Manuel Miranda locked himself in his childhood bedroom to write the song. "I wanted to get to my angstiest possible place," he said, "so I went Method on that." This won the Grammy for Best Song Written For Visual Media at the 2018 ceremony.

I've been staring at the edge of the water
Long as I can remember, never really knowing why
I wish I could be the perfect daughter
But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try

Every turn I take, every trail I track
Every path I make, every road leads back
To the place I know, where I can not go
Though I long to be

See the line where the sky meets the sea? it calls me
And no one knows how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know
If I go, there's just no telling how far I'll go

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I know everybody on this island
Seems so happy on this island
Everything is by design
I know everybody on this island
Has a role on this island
So maybe I can roll with mine

I can lead with pride, I can make us strong
I'll be satisfied if I play along
But the voice inside sings a different song
What is wrong with me?

See the light as it shines on the sea, it's blinding
But no one knows how deep it goes
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me
And let me know what's beyond that line
Will I cross that line?

See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me
And no one knows how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know how far I'll go