How to write the story of America.
That’s the challenge that’s tripped noted authors, film-makers and historians for 220+ years now. Finding a way to take our nation’s tumultuous birth, its rapid expansion, its wars, its scandals, its triumphs & its heartbreaks … and turning that seemingly random series of events into some sort of coherent narrative. I.E. A story that actually means something.
That was the challenge that poor Randy Bright was facing back in the late 1970s. He had been tasked by WED management to find a way to sum up the entire American experience for a show that was supposed to be presented in the United States pavilion at EPCOT Center.
And – if that wasn’t difficult enough – Randy had to tell the entire history of America in under 29 minutes.
Even before he began this task, Bright knew that it was going to be difficult. Damn near impossible. After all, hadn’t two teams of highly paid Hollywood professionals already tried & failed at delivering a workable concept for the U.S. pavilion?
Of course, the previous teams on the “America Adventure” project had gone the old tried-and-true Disney theme park route. Meaning that they had developed rides. In one case, a flume ride that was to have taken EPCOT Center guests past AA versions of popular figures from American folklore like Paul Bunyan and John Henry as they sang “The Land was Your Land.”
Randy knew that that approach wasn’t going to work. That – in order to properly sum up U.S. history – he’d have to do something radically different with the American pavilion at EPCOT Center.
So Bright threw himself into the research phase of the project. Reading every history book that he could get his hands on. Plowing through hundreds of magazine articles, watching dozen of documentaries. All with the hope of finding that slim narrative thread that woven through the entire tapestry of American history.
I’m guessing that JHM readers won’t be surprised to hear that this was a pretty tough go. Mostly because the late 1970s was such a deeply schizophrenic time for the United States.
I mean – sure — we had just wrapped our nation’s bicentennial. So we (as a people) were justly proud that America was two hundred years old and still going strong.
But – at the same time – the late 1970s was this very unsettling time for many Americans. After all, the U.S. had just pulled out of Vietnam. We had been humbled by the gas lines of the oil embargo & suffered through the embarrassment of Watergate. Not to mention that – thanks to record inflation – the economy was still in the toilet.
So – as result – a lot of U.S. residents didn’t know quite how to feel about their nation back then. Should they be happy? Proud? Angry? Disappointed?
Bright saw that most Americans were of two minds when it came to how they felt about their nation in the late 1970s. Which is why Bright decided that “The American Adventure” had to have two narrators. One (Benjamin Franklin) who could have an upbeat, optimistic view of American history (Benjamin Franklin), while the other (Mark Twain) could put a much darker, more cynical spin on the tale.
And then – to re-enforce this idea that there were actually two sides to the American story – Randy decided to write a song.
Now you have to understand that Randy wasn’t a songwriter. He was just a guy who had risen up through the ranks at Walt Disney Productions. Bright had actually started out his career with the corporation as an hourly employee at Disneyland. He was that guy who used to dress up in a spaceman suit and walk around Tomorrowland.
Thanks to his talent and tenacity, Randy eventually found his way into WED. Where he became one of Imagineering’s prolific producers – producing 13 rides, 12 theatre shows and 17 films for the parks.
All that – plus dozens of scripts for Disneyland & the Magic Kingdom. But never once a song.
Still, Bright didn’t lack his lack of songwriting experience stand in his way. He just plunged right into the process, collaborating with Bob Moline, and eventually came up with “Golden Dreams.”
Now I’m sure that most Disneyana fans think that “Golden Dreams” takes its inspiration from the dozens of other “dream” songs that Disney has done over the years. (I.E. “Once Upon a Dream,” “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” etc.) But that’s not entirely true.
The way I hear it, Randy actually took his inspiration for his song from the speech that the late Martin Luther King gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial back in August of 1963.
Here’s a brief excerpt from King’s inspiring speech:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!
Bright supposedly just loved this speech by Reverend King. Which is why he chose to include a brief clip of King standing on the steps of the Lincoln memorial — delivering these memorable lines — as part of the film montage that plays under “Golden Dreams.”
But – more than that — Randy reportedly loved what Martin Luther King stood for in American history. The hope and the optimism that we – as a nation – could continue to grow & mature. Coupled with the tragedy that King would be so brutally struck down before the dream that he so eloquently spoke could actually be achieved.
So – on this day that honors Dr. King and his legacy – I thought it might be appropriate to reprint the lyrics that were inspired (albeit somewhat indirectly) by the late Reverend’s memorable words:
Golden Dream
America
Spread your golden wings
Sail on freedom’s wind
‘cross the sky
Great bird, with your golden dreams
Flying high, flying high
Restless one
Ina world of change
Keeping dreams aloft
In the rain
Spirit free soaring
Through the clouds
Of time, of time
America
You must keep dreaming now
Dreaming the promise now
Of your pioneers
Keep your spirits free
Facing new frontiers
America
Spread your golden wings
Sail on freedom’s wind
‘cross the sky
Great bird, with your golden dreams
Flying high, flying high