“A Million Dreams” by Ziv Zaifman (ft. Michelle Ingrid Williams & Hugh Jackman)

Keeping the context of the movie it is based on, “A Million Dreams” weaves the tale of a youngster who has high ambitions.  This young man happens to be the personage of P. T. Barnum, a famous American entrepreneur who lived a couple of centuries ago about which said movie, The Greatest Showman, is based on. The song starts off with a young P. T. Barnum envisioning “a world” different than the one he lives in. And this realm is calling out to him. He also feels that he should be there.

 PRE-CHORUS

The people around him think he is losing his mind for dreaming of such. Yet despite this opposition he is committed to achieving a reality based on his fantasy. Indeed he can’t sleep at night due to nagging yet wonderful imaginings of a reality he feels he and his fellow believers are able to create.

VERSE 2

The second verse then gets more specific in identifying that the song is indeed about a particular person. As such we get a gander of what it is he is actually conceptualizing, which are exotic items that bring joy to peoples’ lives, even on depressing days. Likewise the business P. T. Barnum was engaged in was circuses.

CHORUS

The subject of the song then switches from a young P. T. Barnum into his adult form. Yet once again he is expressing the same sentiments as in the pre-chorus. In other words, the adult P. T. Barnum possesses the same colorful aspirations that he had as a youth.

 BRIDGE

During the bridge, P. T. Barnum’s wife, Charity, joins him in singing. She expresses that she shares his vision and is there to support him throughout his journey to make it come true. He relays the same sentiment to her.

OUTRO

The song concludes on the note that P.T. and Charity are indeed actively engaged in creating “the world” that they both dream of.

Quick Facts about “A Million Dreams”

• This song was performed by actors Ziv Zaifman, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams. These stars, including Jackman, actually sang this song.
• Songwriters Justin Paul, Joseph Trapanese and Alex Lacamoire are credited with composing this track.
• “A Million Dreams” was produced by Benj Pasek and all three of the song’s writers.
• The song appears on the soundtrack album to The Greatest Showman. That album is titled The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. It was released on December 8, 2017.