One of the artist we don’t listen to too often is Steven Curtis Chapman. In 2007, which was before we started listening to CCM, Chapman released a song called Cinderella. I want you to check out these lyrics (or view the video posted below) and then the story behind the song, and even more interesting, the story after the release of the song:
She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I’m sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders
It’s been a long day
And there’s still work to do
She’s pulling at me
Saying “Dad, I need you
There’s a ball at the castle
And I’ve been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”
(Chorus) So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone…
She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, “Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”
(Chorus)
Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, “Dad, the wedding’s still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”
(Chorus)
And she’ll be gone…
Okay – We have a four year old daughter … and she is my Cinderella. There is nothing, NOTHING, like a beautiful little girl who is all yours.
She calls me Daddy.
It’s magical … and she’s all mine.
So this song is powerful to me. I heard it on the radio and wanted to check out the lyrics online to make sure
Me and my Cinderella
I heard it right. I ended up on Wikipedia and found out the genesis of the song and what happened after he wrote it. This is crazy stuff and completely redefines the song:
One night he was on parent duty, giving bathes and put his two youngest daughters to bed. They were stalling him, putting on their Cinderella gowns, while he was trying to do it quick so he could put them to bed and go to his studio to work, even refusing to read them a story that night. After walking out of their room, he remembered his oldest daughter, now out of the house, and how he had rushed through some moments in her childhood because of his career. He didn’t want to do it again now with his younger daughters. He then felt guilty for neglecting them and started writing this song to remind himself to cherish the moments he could with his family, regardless of how brief and simple they might be.
It would be cool if the story ended there: a talented father writing an ode to his children. But there’s more. What happened after the song is what really makes this story special:
Several months after writing the song, in May 2008, his youngest daughter, Maria Sue, died as a result of an accident in the family driveway. It probably goes without saying that the song took on a whole new meaning for the Chapman family. He says it had originally been written as a message to love and cherish parenthood while it lasted, but it acquired another message of the frailty of life and how suddenly it can change. After his daughter’s death, Chapman has said he was “pretty sure [he] would never sing the song again”. He has since come to terms with it and does perform the song as part of his show.
What would I do if my daughter died? It breaks my heart to even think about the possibility. Read the lyrics again and I dare you not to be moved.
What do you think?
Related articles
- My Cinderella … (viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com)
Ruizetics 