Son of Man, by Phil Collins from the 1999 animated film "Tarzan"

Oh, the power to be strong
And the wisdom to be wise
All these things will
come to you in time
On this journey that you're making
There'll be answers that you'll seek
And it's you who'll climb the mountain
It's you who'll reach the peak

Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be

Though there's no one there to guide you
No one to take your hand
But with faith and understanding
You will journey from boy to man

Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be

In learning you will teach
And in teaching you will learn
You'll find your place beside the
ones you love
Oh, and all the things you dreamed of
The visions that you saw
Well, the time is drawing near now
It's yours to claim it all

Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be

Son of Man
Son of Man's a man for all to see


Explication:

"Son of Man" is a song written by British singer Phil Collins for the soundtrack of the 1999 animated film "Tarzan". Who could forget the sincere but courageous character of the ape-human in the last film of the Disney Renaissance that captured so many hearts worldwide, old and young? And the soundtrack should deserve no less credit for the final outcome and went on to win an Academy Award for Original Song ("You'll be in my Heart"). "Son of Man" is another great song in the Tarzan Soundtrack. The song fits in with my theme (childhood, youth, growing up) in two ways: (1) Disney was a predominant part of my childhood and (2) the song is about growing up and finding out who you are and where you belong.

The rhyme scheme in this song is ABCBEFGF: a simple 4-line rhyme. This makes it easy enough for the writer to rhyme lines and portray the theme of growing up at the same time. "Son of man" is repeated throughout the song as the title usually is. But the echo of "Son of man" has an enduring effect on the listener. The center of the son, Tarzan, grew up with gorillas and was adopted by the animals, but deep inside, he is still a man, a son of man. The refrain/chorus starts at "Son of man look to the sky" and ends at "Son of man, a man in time you'll be". The tone of the song is uplifting and inspirational.

This song is one of my favorite Disney songs. It portrays a simple, but significant and universal theme: the coming of age. Some of the lines are very enduring and is why the soundtrack is not like other childhlike Disney soundtracks. My favorite line is "In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn".