Princess Diaries 2 Maids Song
Germain Aguilera
The Princess Diaries is a timeless story for every generation of Disney fans. Based on Meg Cabot's book and characters, the movies are an institution. Hopes of a third one have not yet been fulfilled, but there are still two wonderful tales to treasure.
The first movie is busting at the seams with good music. A couple of the best songs in the movie didn't make the soundtrack, and a couple of songs that are barely noticeable did. The instrumental score in itself is outstanding, but the licensed music holds an equal amount of feeling for The Princess Diaries. Here are the essential songs used in the course of the movie, ranked in increasing order of sentimental value and memory.
This is not one of the most memorable songs from The Princess Diaries. Melissa Lefton's chorus is upbeat, though: "I love life, life loves me. Everything in the world makes me happy." The quick lyric comes in when Mia and her mom are throwing darts at balloons filled with paint. It does seem to be a pretty happy moment for the mother and daughter.
When Josh Bryant is asking Mia to go to the Baker Beach Party, she gets some prophetic words from P!nk: "Tell me why can't I just reach up and simply touch the sky, Tell me why can't I spread my arms and fly and fly and fly, Tell me why can't I say this, why can't I do that, Tell me what do they want from me, tell me how to act." Mia has lots of feelings going on in this scene.
This BBMak song quickly follows the P!nk track as Mia tells Michael that Josh asked her to the party. Her words are like a punch to Michael's gut, and the words that accompany his sadness are, "Too many feelings, emotions running away with me." The damage is not irreparable, but Michael is certainly hurt by Mia's decisions and needs some time to get over the pain.
When Mia has to whip out the pantyhose to get ready for princess lessons, Joseph closes up the limo divider, and the background music is Aaron Carter's "Little Bitty Pretty One." The bop is a trip back to a simpler time for those who listened to Aaron's original works. It's a fun song to pair with Mia's frantic primping, too.
The song the band rocks out to is insanely good, and it's a real song by the band Rooney, which is actually Robert Schwartzman's real band. Rooney has been compared to the British Invasion style of rock, and it's pretty cool that their song has a place forever in The Princess Diaries.
After the state dinner goes south, Mia and Grandma Clarisse let off a little steam. This is a pivotal time for the two of them. Clarisse is the one who suggests clearing the schedule to have fun. She wants Mia to show her San Francisco, and Mia takes her for a spin in her "baby," the Mustang convertible. "Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thing" blares as they drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. The hip-hop collab from basically defunct artists is a solid relic of 2001 pop culture.
Right after Mia apologizes to her grandmother, Grandma Clarisse tells her, "Mia, you are first and foremost my granddaughter." This puts some pep in Mia's step as she gets herself together for the Grand Ball. The pop song by B*Witched echoes Mia's determination to keep holding on. She has worked so hard and has made some strides as a person. Now it's time to get herself to the ball.
Mandy Moore, as Lana, sings this little ditty on the beach with her sidekicks, Anna and Fontana. The song kicks off the Baker Beach Party and represents the normalcy before the storm of fame that is taking over Mia's life. The original song was sung by Connie Francis in 1958. "Hey, hey, set me free. Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me."
"Crush" experienced popularity as a teen love song after this film. Mia and Josh's slow dance is interrupted by a paparazzi helicopter that is after Princess Mia. Erik von Detten is suave as Josh the high school hottie, but he betrays Mia by moving in for a smooch on purpose in front of the cameras.
After the Baker Beach fiasco, Mia resolves to do the right thing and talk things out with Lilly, who she blew off to go to the party. The Backstreet Boys' "What Makes You Different" plays as the shot transitions from the tabloid headlines to the basketball court and bleachers where Mia and Lilly talk. The beautiful song comes back in the closing credits.
Mia dreams about "soft kisses on a summer's day" with her crush, Josh (while he is actually kissing Mia's nemesis, Lana). The song is a subtle inclusion of a 1960s duo, Chad & Jeremy. Mia's daydream is dashed when Lily says, "What? Haven't you ever seen two idiots exchange saliva before?" Mia fantasizes with the song again later on in PE when Josh speaks to her.
Mia runs out of her debate disaster to a fitting song by Mpulz. "You'll get your wings at the right time, Even birds must learn how to fly, You gotta move on from what's breaking you heart, Don't let your life pass you by."
Who could forget the Perry Como classic that Mia sings in music class? "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away." Michael is the accompanist and looks up from his keys to stare at Mia as she sings with the choir. "Catch a Falling Star" continues as a segue to Mia's first official meeting with Queen Clarisse, her grandmother. Mia sings the song again when she is drenched and stuck in her convertible before the Grand Ball, but Joe saves the day with the limo.
"Supergirl" opens the action of the movie, and the song was a big deal when The Princess Diaries came out. There was an epic music video of the Krystal song featuring acting from Anne Hathaway. "I'm Supergirl, and I'm here to save the world, and I wanna know, Who's gonna save me?" The song is still inspiring and makes you want to sing along.
Finally, the song that made the movie. Mia's whole life is now about miracles happening. The movie has become so familiar that it's easy to forget how crazy her ride in Princess Land was. Michael and Mia dance the night away, do the robot, and share a kiss. The artist of the song, Myra, can now give Mia a new message: "I don't need wings to help me fly. Miracles happen once in awhile, if you believe."
Women's folk music, like women's history, has been a neglected area ofstudy. Too often, the traditional "women's" music we do hear isabout victims: murder ballads, songs of unrequited love and downtroddenwives. Though such songs are a valid part of the tradition, they must bebalanced with other views so we can fully appreciate and understand woman'srole in history.
Women past and present have developed a vibrant oral tradition whichdocuments their concerns, joys, struggles and achievements. I began searchingfor these "woman-positive" songs in 1982, and in 1984 recordedan album called Womansong. A second album, Prince CharmingDoesn't Live Here, followed in 1991. The Womansong Collection CDfeatures a wide selection of favorite songs from both albums, plus two newsongs.
This project is a small, eclectic sample of a rich heritage, a celebrationof women's creativity and determination. I dedicate it to my foremothers,whose lives and dreams are part of my cultural inheritance. Gerri Gribi
Folk historian Alan Lomax estimates that over halfof the ballads created by white singers in America were murder ballads.Like many modern books and movies, the victims are frequently young women,portrayed as defenseless, dim, and almost eager, victims. This ballad isunusual in that the woman single-handedly triumphs over her assailant, feelsno remorse about having defended herself...and delivers a classic partingshot!
This song, found in a London broadside dating backto 1860, is one of many in the "trickster" genre. Folklorist RobertRodriguez first suggested to me that the song was probably a response tothe type of ballad in which the carefree lords ride over the hill and "frolic"with a defenseless servant. Our Crafty Maid is far from defenseless, however;she outwits a potential assailant with a bawdy double entendre, and stealshis horse in the bargain. I found this song in AllOur Lives: A Women's Songbook.
There are many traditional songs which are knownby the name of "Single Life" and the theme is a common one forboth men and women. They are often sung from the view of a wistful marriedperson, as in "I wish I were single again!" The modern tone ofthe chorus is striking; I did not update it, and the song was old by thetime Roba Stanley first recorded it commercially in 1925 for Okeh Records.I heard this version on the album Banjo Picking Girl, Rounder Records.
This lullaby has been in the oral tradition throughoutthe South ever since slavery. Sung by slave nurses tending white children,it protests their being forcibly separated from their own children, the"poor little lamby" of the second verse. It was a strong statementagainst a prevailing myth of that period...that blacks were content withtheir lot and better off than they'd been in Africa.
Slave songs and spirituals frequently had dualor coded meanings. For example "De Gospel Train" and "Followde Drinkin' Gourd" refer to the Underground Railroad. The admonishmentto "Git on board, little children" may have been a signal thatHarriet Tubman was coming through! Tubman, an escaped slave called "theMoses of her people" led at least 19 separate groups North to freedom,rescuing about 300 people in all.
I've known this song since I was a child, but didn'trealize it was a slave song until I was doing research for this album. Accordingto Living Documents in American History from Earliest Colonial Timesto the Civil War, edited by John A Scott, (Trident Press 1963) the songwas collected by Alan Lomax, who learned it from his mother, who took itfrom North Carolina to Texas after the Civil War.
Our nomenclature presumes that men are single bychoice, women by default. Adjectives ascribed to bachelors are "carefree"or "happy-go-lucky," while single women are pitied as "oldmaids" or "spinsters."
People often wax nostalgic for the good-old days"before women had to work." I've yet to figure out when that timewas! Women have always worked...their work has been undervalued and underpaid,but they have always worked.
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