A Million Dreams
by Ziv Zaifman (featuring Hugh Jackman)

Album: The Greatest Showman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2018)
Charted: 22 101
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for The Greatest Showman soundtrack, "A Million Dreams" is sung by the young P. T. Barnum (Ziv Zaifman) to his future wife Charity Hallett (Michelle Williams). He tells her of his dreams for the future and explains his confidence that if they work hard for it, they will come true.

    Every night I lie in bed
    The brightest colors fill my head
    A million dreams are keeping me awake
    I think of what the world could be
    A vision of the one I see
    A million dreams is all it's gonna take
    A million dreams for the world we're gonna make
  • Later on in the song the adult Barnum (Hugh Jackman) recounts the same dreams. Justin Pau explained to Genius:

    "We wanted to show a couple of things. One, that this flame of a dreamer that is Barnum always has a vision. He always wanted life to be larger and colorful than it was. We wanted to show that's the kind of thing that ran through the character from when he was a kid to being an adult.

    But for the story, we thought it would also be interesting and ironic that he expresses this dream as a kid and when we meet Hugh Jackman as an adult now. He still has that same dream and he still hasn't found that thing. He still hasn't built the house, so to speak. He hasn't been good on the promise he makes to himself and Charity. So that dream is kept alive."
  • This was the first tune that Pasek and Paul wrote for The Greatest Showman and it served as their audition for The Greatest Showman. However, nothing was assured. "Every song in the movie we wrote in a competitive way, because we were never hired as the songwriters for the movie," Pasek told Billboard. "We had to submit a song for each song moment."
  • Pink covered this for The Greatest Showman – Reimagined, an album that enlists various recording artists for new versions of the movie's songs. It is followed by the American pop star's daughter Willow Sage Hart who makes her singing debut on a reprise of her mom's track.

    Pink's version peaked at #90 on the US Hot 100 and #11 on the UK singles chart.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

Lajon Witherspoon of SevendustSongwriter Interviews

The Sevendust frontman talks about the group's songwriting process, and how trips to the Murder Bar helped forge their latest album.

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.