When I Grow Up (Matilda)
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"When I Grow Up" is a song from the musical ''
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...
''. Its music and lyrics were written by
Tim Minchin Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...
.


Making The Song

"When I Grow Up" was the first song that Tim Minchin wrote for ''Matilda'', attempting to find a tone for the entire musical, drawing inspiration from his child. He also drew inspiration from a childhood memory in which the adults on his grandfather's farm would fiddle with the padlock to a gate, whereas Minchin went out of his way to hurdle the gate, promising to himself to never open the farm gate.


Meaning

The song When I Grow Up "Sees Children and Adults Flying High on Swings" explains what it means to grow up. Even the adults feel they haven't yet grown up.
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notes that in the song, "they dream of being old enough to handle the burdens that life, with its rude sense of humor, has already given them". ''
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'' writes "Matilda’s schoolmates sing of a time when they’ll be strong enough to carry the burdens forced upon them and to flush out monsters from under the bed. Grown-ups know that some burdens crush even the broadest shoulders, that there will always be some kind of monster to worry about, and that happy endings are at best only provisional." They say that they can do whatever they want when they are grown up.


Critical reception

''
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'' described the song as "the exuberant second act opener", yet noted "it’s impossible to miss the poignancy of inchoate feelings of loss and hope flooding beneath the surface". ''
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'' wrote "Only the most chronic misanthrope could fail to get misty-eyed when these mistreated kids glide back and forth on long rope swings singing “When I Grow Up.” That song’s soul-stirring mix of yearning and escape encapsulates what makes Matilda such a joy." ''
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'' wrote "It must be a relief for the young actors — I know it is for the audience — when at the beginning of act two they get to sing a lovely, simple, Beatles-like tune called “When I Grow Up” while flying on rope swings high above the stage". ''The New York Times'' noted many adults said they cried during this song, "the show’s most conventionally pretty number". New Jersey Newsroom described it as "jubilant". ''
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'' said the song was the "most remarkable moment" of the show, "simple", and "gorgeous". '' Time Out'' wrote "“When I Grow Up” is a particularly affecting, wistful number that captures kids aching for adulthood, blissfully ignorant of its pains and burdens.". ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' named it "the second-act show-stopper", and said the song "takes a simple, round-like melody and artfully sketches a pint-size perspective on the supposedly absolute freedoms of adulthood". ''
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'' named it "the barn-raiser song".


Performances

"When I Grow Up" and "Naughty" were performed in a medley at the
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in November 2012.


Certifications


References

{{Tim Minchin 2010 songs Songs from musicals Songs written by Tim Minchin