Jane Willson Do you believe in fate? Do you think that life events are “written in the stars”? Or, at least, in the matters of love, is there really any destiny-like component to it. Something “pulling strings” on life, so to speak?… And, if so, and your life is not going the way you want, could you, then, as the song title suggests, “rewrite the stars”?
Those are the issues surrounding this song, composed as a duet, by Benj Ask and
Justin Paul, for the movie “The Greatest Showman”, and in this track performed by singers Anne Marie and James Arthur. It is the story of two lovers who want each other but seem to be always going up against the good fortunes.
What is the Anne-Marie & James Arthur Rewrite The Stars Lyrics Meaning?
In a dynamic generating dramatic contrast, one of them wants to defy the odds, while the other is more discouraged in the face of the adversities opposing the couple. A sort of “fight” between the belief of pure fate, against the notion that a strong will can, and must, conquer all – especially when your happiness is on the line.
The song goes on to explore the idea that maybe something can be done to break the bad cycle. Maybe the fate is really against them… But what if they fight for it? What if they force their free-will into the situation. “It’s up to you, and it’s up to me”, the lyrics say, “no one can say what we get to be”.
Hopeful as the “audience” may be for the lovers, the lyrics move on in a
pessimistic note – as one of them seeks the freedom to love, while the other argues that out there, in the real world, there are very concrete, powerful obstacles they just cannot overcome.
In the end, the conclusion for impossibility is clear. The couple will never be
together. No, it’s not up to them. No one can rewrite the stars. It’s inevitable that they break apart and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Like Romeo and Juliet, the lovers struggle only to find themselves victimized by fate’s disfavor.
Interesting Facts About Song and Artists:
“Rewrite the Stars” was originally performed for the movie “The Greatest Showman” by Zac Efron and Zendaya (who played the characters of the lovers); only later being recorded as a cover by English singers Anne Marie and James Arthur, as a part of the project “The Greatest Showman: Reimagined” that was meant to celebrate the huge success of the movie’s soundtrack.
This new version of the song (with Anne Marie and James Arthur) was a huge
success, being streamed more than 50 million times only in the first month of being released.
This recording was the first professional collaboration of singers Annie Marie and
James Arthur.
