About Let It Go from Frozen
“Let it Go” is one of the most popular songs from ‘Frozen,’ Disney’s 2013 animated feature film. “Let it Go” was the first ‘Frozen’ song that Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez wrote for the film. The song was performed in the film by American actress and singer Idina Menzel as Queen Elsa. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez took inspiration from other Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. The duo was also inspired by contemporary artists such as Adele and Lady Gaga.
The song was written explicitly for Idina Menzel, Anderson-Lopez and Lopez stated she is “one of the most glorious voices of Broadway and an icon in musical theater”. Menzel’s vocal range was taken under consideration during the music’s composition. Originally written as a villain, co-directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee gradually rewrote Elsa as one of the film’s protagonists. The song’s composition was pivotal in the film’s characterization of Elsa.
The opening lyrics to Let It Go, “Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know,” was something Elsa’s father told her when she was given her gloves for safety. The song appears after an ostracized Elsa flees her kingdom soon after the public discovers her ice powers. Realizing that she no longer needs to hide her powerful abilities, Elsa declares herself free from the stress and fears that she’s been faced with since childhood.
Let It Go Lyrics
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I’m the queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, Heaven knows I tried
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all
It’s time to see what I can do
To test the limits and breakthrough
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free
Let it go, let it go
I’m one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You’ll never see me cry
Here I stand and here I’ll stay
Let the storm rage on
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I’m never going back, the past is in the past
Let it go, let it go
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand in the light of day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
ELSA
THE SNOW GLOWS WHITE
ON THE MOUNTAIN TONIGHT
NOT A FOOTPRINT TO BE SEEN
A KINGDOM OF ISOLATION
AND IT LOOKS LIKE I’M THE QUEEN
THE WIND IS HOWLING
LIKE THIS SWIRLING STORM INSIDE
COULDN’T KEEP IT IN
HEAVEN KNOWS I TRIED…
DON’T LET THEM IN
DON’T LET THEM SEE
BE THE GOOD GIRL YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE
CONCEAL
DON’T FEEL
DON’T LET THEM KNOW
WELL, NOW THEY KNOW
LET IT GO, LET IT GO
CAN’T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE
LET IT GO, LET IT GO
TURN AWAY AND SLAM THE DOOR
I DON’T CARE WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO SAY
LET THE STORM RAGE ON
THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY
ELSA, SNOW CHORUS
IT’S FUNNY HOW SOME DISTANCE
MAKES EVERYTHING SEEM SMALL
ELSA
AND THE FEARS THAT ONCE CONTROLLED ME
CAN’T GET TO ME AT ALL
IT’S TIME TO SEE
WHAT I CAN DO
ELSA, SNOW CHORUS
TO TEST THE LIMITS AND BREAK THROUGH
ELSA
NO RIGHT, NO WRONG
NO RULES FOR ME
ELSA, SNOW CHORUS
I’M FREE!
LET IT GO! LET IT GO!
ELSA
I AM ONE WITH THE WIND AND SKY
ELSA, SNOW CHORUS
LET IT GO! LET IT GO!
ELSA
YOU’LL NEVER SEE ME CRY
HERE, I STAND, AND HERE, I’LL STAY
ELSA, SNOW CHORUS
LET THE STORM RAGE ON…
ELSA (SNOW CHORUS)
MY POWER FLURRIES THROUGH THE AIR INTO THE GROUND (AH…)
MY SOUL IS SPIRALING IN FROZEN FRACTALS ALL AROUND (AH…)
AND ONE THOUGHT CRYSTALLIZES LIKE AN ICY BLAST: (AH…)
ELSA
I’M NEVER GOING BACK
ELSA, SNOW CHORUS
THE PAST IS IN THE PAST!
LET IT GO! LET IT GO!
AND I’LL RISE LIKE THE BREAK OF DAWN
LET IT GO! LET IT GO!
THAT PERFECT GIRL IS GONE
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn my back and slam the door
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
and it looks like I’m the queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, Heaven knows I tried
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always had to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn my back and slam the door
And here I stand, and here I’ll stay
Let it go, let it go
The cold never bothered me anyway
It’s funny how some distance
makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
can’t get to me at all
Up here in the cold thin air,
I finally can breathe
I know I left a life behind,
but I’m too relieved to grieve
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn my back and slam the door
And here I stand, and here I’ll stay
Let it go, let it go
The cold never bothered me anyway
Standing frozen in the life I’ve chosen
You won’t find me, the past is so behind me
Buried in the snow
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn my back and slam the door
And here I stand, and here I’ll stay
Let it go, let it go
The cold never bothered me anyway, oh
Let it go
Yeah, yeah
Na, na
Here I’ll stay
Let it go, let it go
Ooh
Let it go
‘Let It Go’ YouTube Video
Let It Go Song Facts & Trivia
- The song is performed in the movie ‘Frozen’ by Elsa (voiced by Broadway veteran Idina Menzel) when she leaves the kingdom of Arendelle and creates her own ice palace. “Kids don’t want to stand out all the time, they want to fit in,” Menzel said regarding this song. “It’s about finding that thing that makes you different that’s going to make you special and extraordinary.”
- Musically, the song was written to accommodate Idina Menzel’s vocal range.
- As sung by Demi Lovato, this song appears on the soundtrack for the Disney computer-animated film Frozen. The track was released alongside the pre-order of the soundtrack on iTunes on October 22, 2013.
- Both Demi and Idina Menzel’s versions entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the week after the release of Frozen.
- Idina Menzel’s version rose into the Top 10 of The Hot 100 in the wake of her performance of the song during the Academy Awards. In doing so, Menzel made history by becoming the first person to have both a Top 10 hit and a Tony Award for acting. (She won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Wicked).
- The song earned an entry in the 2016 Guinness World Records book for “Most Languages Featured on a Single.” It was recorded in 42 different languages for Frozen’s foreign releases. Idina Menzel shared in a magazine interview how her young son boasted to his classmates that his mom sings the songs in Frozen. To this, another child replied, “So does everyone else’s.”
- The song was written and composed by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of multiple Tony Award-winning composers Robert Lopez (Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, both of whom had previously worked with Walt Disney Animation Studios on Winnie the Pooh.
- This won Best Song at the Oscars in the 2014 ceremony. The win meant that the song’s co-writer Robert Lopez had gone EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
- “Let It Go,” widely recognized and celebrated for its empowering message and memorable melody, is exclusive to the original “Frozen” film and is not part of the “Frozen 2” soundtrack.
Idina Menzel who sings Let it Go for Disney’s 60th anniversary
Frozen Movie Trivia
- As of April 11, 2014, Frozen (2013) became both the highest-grossing animated and musical film of all time and the ninth highest-grossing film of all time with a worldwide box office gross of $1.097 billion.
- Idina Menzel auditioned for the part of Rapunzel in Disney’s previous fairytale, Tangled (2010). Even though Menzel didn’t get the part, a Disney casting director recorded her audition, and two years later, it got her the part of Elsa.
- When the gates open during “For The First Time in Forever,” there is a cameo of Rapunzel and Eugene (Flynn) from Tangled (2010). Rapunzel has short, brown hair and is wearing a purple and pink dress (her celebration dress at the end of ‘Tangled’), and Eugene is wearing a maroon vest and a brownish sash. They are entering the screen from the left.
- The characters of Hans, Kristoff, Anna, and Sven are a reference to Hans Christian Andersen, the author of The Snow Queen. Say the names quickly in sequence and hear the similarity.
- In addition to being the first woman to direct a full-length Disney animated feature film, Jennifer Lee also became the first woman to solely write an entire screenplay for a Disney animated film since Linda Woolverton for Beauty and the Beast (1991).
- A live reindeer was brought into the animating studio for animators to study its movements and mannerisms for the reindeer character, Sven. Co-director Jennifer Lee said it was the best moment during production for her.
- HIDDEN MICKEY: There is a plush Mickey Mouse on one of the shelves in Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna.
- During Olaf’s song, his dance with four seagulls is a nod to Bert’s dance with four penguins from another Disney movie, Mary Poppins (1964).
- Like her Frozen co-star Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell also auditioned for the part of Rapunzel for Tangled (2010).
- Upon winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, Frozen (2013) became the first full-length Disney (non-Pixar) animated feature film to win the award for the category after the studio had nominated it four times before. Frozen is also the first Disney animated feature film to win a Golden Globe since Tarzan (1999), also directed by Chris Buck.
- Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez wrote “Let It Go” within a single day. Conception began when the story outline they were given called for “Elsa’s Badass Song” at the scene where the song would take place, but the two began by envisioning the song with an “emo” undertone. According to Anderson-Lopez: “We went for a walk in Prospect Park and threw phrases at each other. What does it feel like to be the perfect exalted person, but only because you’ve held back this secret? [Robert Lopez] came up with ‘kingdom of isolation,’ and it worked.” Lopez was able to improvise the song’s first four lines on the spot. They went home and composed the rest of the song by alternating between improvising melodies on a piano and brainstorming lyrics on a whiteboard.
Other Frozen song lyrics
You may want to also check out the lyrics for For the First Time in Forever and Love is an Open Door from Frozen the movie.
Is Let It Go one of your favorite Disney songs?
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