Beyond My Wildest Dreams Lyrics
Beyond My Wildest Dreams
ARIELOh! Just look!
It's like I'm in a storybook!
Oh! It's bliss!
I dreamed that it would be
Somewhat-
But not
Like this!
Look over there!
Oh my god!
How very odd!
And what might they be?
Something splendid, maybe!
Look over here!
Could you bust?
Isn't it just
Bedazzling, dazing
Utterly amazing!
Gazing 'round, it's like, to die!
Just seeing it feels so good
I'd scream if I only could!
I'd hoped and wished
And wanted so to be here
Wished and prayed
And planned it to a "t"
Prayed and wow!
Just look - it's really me here!
Walking around, strange as it seems
Somewhere beyond my wildest dreams!
MAID 1
Look at her there
Looking 'round
Won't make a sound
MAID 2
Just keeps on gawking-
Weird how she's not talking!
MAID 3
Look at her stare
MAID 4
Lucky miss!
MAID 3
Chosen like this
To stay for dinner
MAID 4
What does he see in her?
CARLOTTA
Hush now, girls - she's simply shy!
MAIDS
Hmmph!
MAIDS 3 & 4
Just picture the table chat!
MAIDS 1 & 2
One sided, if even that!
ARIEL
I'd hoped and wished
And wondered what I'd do here
Wished and prayed
And pictured what I'd see
Prayed and wow!
My prayers are coming true here!
Look at it all, look how it gleams!
Lovely beyond my wildest dreams...
Look - it's him!
SO handsome and refined and slim
Sweet, sincere
Magnificent from head to toe
And oh...
I'd hoped and wished
My life would feel enchanted!
Wished and prayed
The fates would hear my plea
Prayed and wow!
MY prayers are more than granted!
Look at it all, hall after hall
Perfect as you could please here!
Marvels galore, and even more
Gee, did I mention *he's* here?
And if - who knows? - all of it goes
Past even these extremes
Just look at me and you will see
Someone beyond her wildest dreams!
Song Overview
Beyond My Wildest Dreams is the Broadway-only sugar rush that drops Ariel into the human world and lets her brain go full fireworks. Written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for the stage adaptation, it appears as Track 17 on The Little Mermaid (Original Broadway Cast Recording), released February 26, 2008 on Walt Disney Records. The cut features Sierra Boggess with support from Heidi Blickenstaff and the palace staff, and the album itself was produced by Menken.
Review & Highlights
Beyond My Wildest Dreams is the show’s comic sprint - Ariel’s point-of-view montage, scored like a patter-waltz with bright woodwinds and hand-clap rhythm. The lyrics volley breathless asides and surprise rhymes while the orchestra flickers like sunlight off marble. It’s the most human she’s ever sounded and the most teenager she’s ever felt, which is the whole trick. The lyrics keep it conversational, then slip in those Menken lifts that make a chorus feel like a window thrown open.
Highlights: the gasp-and-go opening; Carlotta’s gently exasperated interjections; the sudden hush when she clocks Eric; and that last line where self-belief sneaks in under the squeal.
Verse 1
She narrates the room like a tour guide who can’t stop grinning. Short bursts, quick commas, and a melody that keeps bouncing back to center - glee with a metronome.
Chorus
No banner hook, just a rolling refrain that rises each time she says what she’s wished. The music smiles wider with each lap.
Exchange/Bridge
The maids whisper and judge; Carlotta shushes. Dramatically, that chatter frames Ariel’s awe without puncturing it - classic Broadway counterpoint humor.
Final Build
Eric enters, strings tilt romantic, and the rhythm steadies as Ariel’s giddiness hardens into intention. Curtain on a quiet flex: belief, not just crush.
Song Meaning and Annotations
This number is Ariel learning to translate wonder into language. She’s been collecting forks and stories; now she’s collecting rooms and faces.
“This is a reference to the fact that the musical and 1989 animated film are based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story.”That wink matters - the show knows the fairytale frame and lets Ariel claim it, not be trapped by it. After this, she stops being only a dreamer and starts being a chooser.
The text folds in what we already know from “Part of Your World,” then escalates it.
“Ariel would collect stuff from land, and in ‘Part of Your World’ it is shown that she imagined living there as well.”The progression is clean - fantasy to contact - and the music mirrors it by tightening the tempo as her focus sharpens.
Her silence isn’t weakness; it’s craft.
“This is a way to show how excited Ariel is, it also shows how she cannot talk due to the fact Ursula has taken her voice.”Without words, she turns physicality into punctuation - breath, spin, stare. The song becomes a masterclass in acting on rhythm.
Language play keeps the mood quick.
“To plan something to a ‘t’ might mean to plan to do something right.”Slater’s idioms feel tossed-off, teenager real. Menken threads those idioms with tiny melodic nudges so the jokes land on the beat, not on top of it.
The title sentiment is literal - she’s outpaced even her own imagination.
“The real world is better than Ariel could have imagined.”That’s the hinge - when the world exceeds the fantasy, desire stops being abstract and starts steering choices.
Then she sees him.
“The ‘him’ Ariel is referring to is Prince Eric.”The harmonic color warms, and the room fades. What could’ve been a shriek becomes a vow; the lyric tilts from “look” to “want.”
Underneath the sparkle is a plea for belonging.
“She wishes for her dreams, being human or feeling accepted, to come true.”The palace isn’t just pretty - it feels like a place where her inside story fits the outside shape.
Key Facts
- Artist: Original Broadway Cast of The Little Mermaid
- Featured: Sierra Boggess, Heidi Blickenstaff
- Composer: Alan Menken
- Lyricist: Glenn Slater
- Producer: Alan Menken
- Release Date: February 26, 2008
- Album: The Little Mermaid (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Label: Walt Disney Records
- Length: 3:03
- Track #: 17
- Language: English
- Genre: Broadway, show tune
- Instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, percussion, ensemble voices
- Mood: buoyant, dazzled, determined
- Music style: patter-waltz fusion with quick-cut scene work
- Poetic meter: mixed, conversational trochaic bursts over 3-feel
- © Copyrights: © 2008 Walt Disney Records; composition © Menken/Slater
Questions and Answers
- What makes “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” different from the 1989 film songs?
- It was written for the stage by Menken and Slater, expanding Ariel’s first hours on land into a full comic set piece the movie never had.
- Who sings on the cast album cut?
- Sierra Boggess leads as Ariel with Heidi Blickenstaff as Carlotta and the palace maids chiming in.
- When did the cast album drop, and on what label?
- February 26, 2008, via Walt Disney Records.
- Is there an official audio upload to reference?
- Yes - the “Provided to YouTube” posting carries the OBCR audio of Beyond My Wildest Dreams.
- Does the number appear in screen versions?
- It’s a stage addition. The 2019 ABC live special mixed film and stage material, but the Broadway album remains the go-to for this song.
Awards and Chart Positions
The album opened at #26 on the Billboard 200 - the second-highest cast-album debut in 25 years at the time - and #1 on the Cast Albums chart, shifting 20,000+ units its first week. It also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Show Album.
How to Sing Beyond My Wildest Dreams?
Vocal range & placement: Ariel sits in bright mix and head voice, living between light B3–D5 with optional lifts. Keep vowels narrow when excitement spikes to avoid spread - the groove does the smiling for you.
Breath & tempo: Treat it as patter-in-3. Mark silent commas for each visual “oh!” and save air for the Eric reveal where lines lengthen.
Diction: Consonants are the comedy. Land “t” and “k” cleanly, but don’t chip the legato under the waltz.
Acting beats: Start tourist, end intentional. The maids’ gossip is armor-testing, not plot-stopping; play your curiosity as courage.
Common pitfalls: Over-belting the last tag, rushing maids’ counters, and swallowing syllables on the room-by-room list. Keep the eyes doing half the work.