Home Lyrics – Disney's Beauty And The Beast

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured Artist: Susan Egan (Belle)
• Producers: Bruce Botnick & Alan Menken
• Composer: Alan Menken
• Lyricist: Tim Rice
• Orchestration: Steve Cohen & Danny Troob
• Release Date: April 26 1994
• Album: Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical (Original Cast Recording)
• Genre: Broadway, Disney Theatrical, Dramatic Ballad
• Language: English
• Label: Walt Disney Records
• Length: ~3 min 50 s
• Mood: Yearning, Defiant
• Copyright © & ? 1994 Walt Disney Records

Song Meaning and Annotations

The opening sigh of Home feels like the creak of a heavy oak door closing behind you—final, echoing, strange. Alan Menken drapes Belle’s moment of captivity in lush strings, but Tim Rice salts the sweetness with barbs of self-doubt. Belle’s first line, “Yes, I made the choice…”, lands like a confession in an empty chapel: protective love for her father collides with suffocating stone walls. Musically the piece glides from tender arpeggios into swelling orchestral surges, charting Belle’s emotional whiplash. One minute she likens the castle to a sepulcher—“dark and cold”; the next she rallies with hard-won optimism: “Try to find something good in this tragic place.” That pivot is the spine of the number, showing Disney’s famously fearless heroine stumbling, then straightening, without losing her glare.

“My heart’s far, far away—
Home’s a lie.”

The couplet is a dagger to fairy-tale convention. Instead of longing for romance, Belle aches for autonomy; “Home” re-brands imprisonment not just as stone bars, but as any life that muzzles curiosity.

Verse Architecture

Opening Verse

Belle lashes out—calling the Beast a “monster,” labeling his moral compass “foolish.” The staccato accompaniment mimics fist-pounding frustration.

Chorus One

Harp flourishes soften the edges as nostalgia surfaces. She recalls childhood wisdom—“Home will be where the heart is”—only to shred it because her heart now roams restless.

Bridge

A minor-to-major modulation under “What I'd give to return…” hints at hope, but the key slips back, signalling that wishful thinking cannot open cell doors.

Final Chorus & Outro

Menken lofts the melody upward on “Build higher walls around me”—an ironic ascent that underscores Belle’s refusal to shrink. The last line, “Home and free,” dares the castle to contain her spirit.

Similar Songs

1. “Part of Your World” – Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid)
   Both ballads spotlight heroines confronting confinement—Ariel’s ocean floor mirrors Belle’s stone keep. Each melody lifts on the word “world,” signalling an inner compass pointed far beyond present walls.
2. “On My Own” – Frances Ruffelle (Les Misérables)
   Éponine’s rain-soaked soliloquy matches Belle’s castle lament in solitude and resolve. Sparse openings bloom into orchestral waves, echoing determination wrapped in melancholy.
3. “Shadowland” – Heather Headley (The Lion King)
   Nala’s decision to leave her homeland parallels Belle’s sacrifice. Both songs fuse swelling strings with urgent self-talk, proving that courage often seeds itself in isolation.

Questions and Answers

Why was “Home” added for the stage version?

Menken and Rice needed a solo to expose Belle’s inner struggle—film viewers glimpse it glancingly, but theatre demands a spotlighted confession.

Does Belle ever reprise “Home”?

Yes—a shorter reprise marks her emotional turning point when she begins feeling genuine connection within the castle.

What vocal range suits the piece?

It sits comfortably for a lyric soprano with mix—G3 to C5—with an optional E5 flourish on the final “free.”

How does the orchestration hint at the plot?

Low cellos growl beneath elegant woodwinds, reflecting the Beast’s raw danger under Belle’s refined hopes.

Is there symbolism in “higher walls”?

Yes—literal fortifications mirror emotional defenses both Belle and Beast must dismantle to find real freedom.

Awards and Chart Positions

• The original Broadway production earned nine Tony nominations; although “Home” itself wasn’t singled out, Susan Egan’s portrayal, anchored by this ballad, secured a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical (1994).
• The cast album peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums chart in 1994.

Fan and Media Reactions

“Every theatre kid has belted ‘Home’ in an empty auditorium—it’s practically a rite of passage.”
Playbill Reader Comment

“Menken’s melody spins like a music-box that’s been wound too tight—beautiful but trembling.”
Variety review

“Susan Egan cracked my heart at ‘Home’s a lie.’ Still does, decades later.”
Twitter fan post

“Belle’s ballad was my lockdown anthem. Felt like she wrote it from my apartment.”
Reddit user

“The song text walks the tightrope between fury and hope—pure Broadway alchemy.”
Theatre blogger