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In Search of Peter Pan Lyrics
It's been such a long week
So much crying
I no longer see a future
I've been told when I get older
That I'll understand it all
But I'm not sure if I want to
Running into her arms
At the school gates
She whispers that I'm a poor kid
And Granny takes me on her knee
She tells me I'm too sensitive
She makes me sad
She makes me feel like an old man
She makes me feel like an old man
They took the game right out of it
They took the game right out of it
When I am a man
I will be an astronaut
And find Peter Pan
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
Dennis loves to look
In the mirror
He tells me that he is beautiful
So I look too, and what do I see?
My eyes are full
But my face is empty
He's got a photo
Of his hero
He keeps it under his pillow
But I've got a pin-up
From a newspaper
Of Peter Pan
I found it in a locket
I hide it in my pocket
They took the game right out of it
They took the game right out of it
When I am a man
I will be an astronaut
And find Peter Pan
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
"When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true"
So much crying
I no longer see a future
I've been told when I get older
That I'll understand it all
Running into her arms
At the school gates
She whispers that I'm a poor kid
And Granny takes me on her knee
She tells me I'm too sensitive
She makes me sad
She makes me feel like an old man
They took the game right out of it
I will be an astronaut
And find Peter Pan
Straight on 'til morning
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
In the mirror
He tells me that he is beautiful
So I look too, and what do I see?
My eyes are full
But my face is empty
Of his hero
He keeps it under his pillow
But I've got a pin-up
From a newspaper
Of Peter Pan
I hide it in my pocket
They took the game right out of it
I will be an astronaut
And find Peter Pan
Straight on 'til morning
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
Second star on the right
Straight on 'til morning
Makes no difference who you are
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true"
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For me, this is a song about the fear of making the transition from childhood to adulthood in tact and as a person who was "raised right (correctly)." The real fear here seems to be one of not outgrowing those things which make us charmingly child-like when we are young but tragically childish when we're adults such as neediness and vanity.
When one considers how young Kate was when she wrote this song (15-20 years old?), and particularly when one compares it to the likes of so many unnameable "chanteuses" very popular today, it is really astounding in its depth and insight. Haunting, eerie, whimsical, lilting, tragic, and secretive all at once...it seems to tie into the cover photo of LIONHEART very directly. IMHO...
These are the trials of being a teenager.
She's right though, they do take the game out of it
This song is obviously about a young boy.. but when I heard the song I imagined the child in the song being Wendy. the way she has to deal with the pressure of growing up
A beautiful song capturing childhood anxieties, disappointments, pressures, fears, etc.
The opening lines suggest any turmoil a child faces - divorce, loss, entering school, bullying, etc… These upset ‘the fun’. Hence, ‘They took the game right out of it…’
The adult voices (‘Oh! When you’re older, you’ll understand it all!’ … ‘Oh, you poor thing!’ … ‘There! There! My dear! Such a sensitive child!’) don’t achieve the reassurance they offer. Adult and child worlds can be exclusive; (word) misunderstandings can heighten fears, self-doubts, and achieve the opposite effect; and from the child’s perspective, the (adult) world can seem impossible, frightening, horrid, etc.
‘Dennis’ is a confident child whose heroes are real people (‘photo’). His heroes are functioning vehicles into adulthood. His confidence (unintentionally) heightens the other’s fear of emptiness and disconnection. So the other retreats into and uses the reassuring world of Peter Pan to negotiate his/her transition into adulthood. Such is the endurance of the Peter Pan myth!
I imagine this as Kate being a young girl and looking up at her brother in a way that Scout does with Jem in To Kill A Mockingbird. She wants to be a man and be strong like Peter Pan but does not want to become as moody as all the adults.