“Let It Grow” by The Lorax Singers
The Lorax Singers is the unofficial collective moniker given to the vocalists behind the soundtrack to the 2012 animated film The Lorax. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax: Original Songs from the Motion Picture came out on 21 February 2012 through Interscope Records.
The Lorax Singers who participated on “Let It Grow” encompasses the bulk of those who were involved the album –
- Edie Lehmann Boddicker
- Ed Helms
- Dan Navarro
- Rob Riggle
- Jenny Slate
- Fletcher Sheridan
- Claira Titman
- Betty White (1922-2021)
Credits for “Let It Grow”
The writers of this song are Cinco Paul, who also co-wrote the screenplay to The Lorax, alongside English music composer John Powell. And it is also Powell who produced the track with mainstream-industry vet Tricky Stewart.
The Lyrics of “Let It Grow”
The Lorax is not only a cartoon but furthermore is based on a story by the legendary Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), who was a children’s writer but exceptionally skilled at his craft. In other words, there are intricacies from the film upon which the lyrics of this song are based, and we are not familiar with all of them.
But based on the Dr. Seuss Wiki and as made evident by the wording of the song, what it revolves around is the communal planting of a tree. And for the most part, the different characters present give their personal opinions as to why such should transpire.
Cy
First there is Cy. And his rationale is simply that growing “trees might be worth a try”, and therefore the ‘hood should give it a shot.
Dan and Rose
Afterwards comes a married couple by the names of Dan and Rose. Their reasoning is that their “son Wesley kinda glows”, which isn’t a good thing, and therefore the community should let the tree grow.
The reason Wesley glows is because he swam in a polluted waterbody. So the implication would be that Dan and Rose want the tree planted to start the process of repairing the natural environs.
Ted’s Mom
Next comes a character who’s identified as Ted’s mom, and her only statement is to “let it grow”.
Meanwhile the crowd at large shares the same sentiment, putting forth that “you can’t reap what you don’t sow”. What that means in context is that a tree literally has to be planted before it can spring forth. And along the line, they also express a desire to “celebrate the world’s rebirth”.
So by this point, it’s becoming obvious that “Let It Grow” is an environmentally-minded song.
Marie and Grammy Norma
But as for Marie, she’s only three and therefore is not conscious of environmental issues like that. But she “would really like to see a tree” and therefore is sentimentally in tune with the community at large.
So too is Grammy Norma who’s on the opposite end of the spectrum from Marie, i.e. being aged instead of a child. In fact she’s old enough to remember back when trees were everywhere, and no one had to pay for air”.
At this point, it should be noted that the premise being The Lomax is the characters therein, i.e. those featured on this song, living within a walled city known as Kneedville where there is no natural flora, and the outside world is a desolate wasteland.
And since there are no trees around to produce oxygen, which of course is a prerequisite for human life, then said residents are compelled to literally buy it from the mayor of Kneedville. So since Grammy is able to recall when things weren’t so, she’s definitely down with getting things poppin’ by planting a real-life tree.
And with that in mind, the crowd at large once again chimes in. They understand that as it currently stands, this tree “is just one tiny seed”. So they also recognize that planting it is a symbolic gesture, i.e. their first step towards re-imbuing the world with trees, as it is intended to be.
O’Hare
The next character to offer his opinion is O’Hare. He’s the aforementioned mayor, i.e. the one charging citizens for oxygen. That’s likely why, upon lending his voice, he’s first compelled to clarify that he is indeed “one of” the people. And he also states a willingness, in coming to understand the importance of trees, to ‘change his point of view’, which was obviously shunning the idea beforehand in the name of maximizing his profits.
However in the following stanza, O’Hare quickly changes his disposition and rather argues that the tree should be allowed to “die” and “shrivel”, furthermore seeking the support of likeminded individuals. But it is another character named Marie who lets him know that nobody else supports that position, and afterwards he is referred to as a “greedy dirtbag” by another attendee.
The Conclusion of “Let It Grow”
The song eventually concludes with the citizens of Kneedville agreeing to resist the likes of O’Hare and instead initiate “a brand new dawn” by allowing the tree and subsequent ones to grow and dedicating themselves to that cause henceforth.
So going back to the cleverness of Dr. Seuss, the story behind The Lomax is obviously one that’s supposed to have some type of a real-world application, considering that environmental degradation was already a hot topic by the time he published the book in 1971.
So if nothing else the message behind this song, as with the story itself, is that environmental degradation must be taken seriously in the face of industrial and economic development.
