The Guardians at the Gates
“Out There”
performed by Tony Jay
and Tom Hulce
from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
soundtrack
[Frollo]:
The world is cruel.
The world is wicked.
It’s I alone whom you
can trust in this whole city.
I am your only friend.
I who keep you, teach you,
feed you, dress you.
I who look upon you
without fear.
How can I protect you, boy,
unless you
always stay in here?
Away in here?
Remember, what I
taught you, Quasimodo:
You are deformed…[Quasimodo]:
I am deformed.[Frollo]:
And, you are ugly.[Quasimodo]:
And I am ugly.[Frollo]:
And these are crimes
for which the world
shows little pity,
you do not comprehend.[Quasimodo]:
You are my one defender.[Frollo]:
Out there, they’ll revile you
as a monster.[Quasimodo]:
I am a monster.[Frollo]:
Out there they will hate
and scorn and jeer.[Quasimodo]:
Only a monster.[Frollo]:
Why invite their calumny
and consternation?
Stay in here,
be faithful to me.[Quasimodo]:
I’m faithful.[Frollo]:
Grateful to me.[Quasimodo]:
I’m grateful.[Frollo]:
Do as I say,
obey,
and stay
in here.[Quasimodo]:
I’ll stay
in here.[Quasimodo]:
Safe behind these windows
and these parapets of stone,
gazing at the people
down below me…
All my life I watch them
as I hide up here alone,
hungry for the histories
they show me…
All my life I memorize their faces
knowing them as they will
never know me…
All my life I wonder how it feels
to pass a day,
not above them,
but part of themAnd, out there
living in the sun…
Give me one day out there;
all I ask is one
to hold forever.Out there
where they all live unaware…
What I’d give,
what I’d dare,
just to live one day out there…Out there among the millers
and the weavers and their wives…
Through the roofs and gables
I can see them…
Ev’ry day they shout and scold
and go about their lives
heedless of the gift it is
to be them.
If I was in their skin,
I’d treasure ev’ry instant.Out there
strolling by the Seine…
taste a morning out there
like ordinary men
who freely walk about there.
Just one day and then,
I swear I’ll be content
With my share…
won’t resent,
won’t despair,
old and bent,
I won’t care.
I’ll have spent
one day,
out there.
Although I have never officially seen this movie (it’s a sin practically, I know..) I can still get a feel for what is going on. I really like this song along with all the others we’ve listened to throughout the hero journey. I’m sure many messages can be interpreted through it, yet the one I chose to recognize was that despite your differences, you shouldn’t be afraid to go out into the world and show your talents to others. If you are shy or scared of what others will think, you are wasting your time. It really amazes me that all of these songs are coming from little disney films that came out during my childhood–prime time for me to learn all of these valuable lessons. But, as most little kids, I just liked the story, and the songs were the parts I either got up and took breaks during or danced to. Way to go Jenny.
[Reply]
To me, this song is about feeling a calling but being held back by the protector. The “protector” does not want you to feel the pain that they have endured and so they sometimes hold us back. They don’t always realize that we have to make our own mistakes and experience pain. We will be strengthened through this pain even though it is hard. Quasimodo wants to go “out there” with all of the people but is being held back. He says:
“Out there
where they all live unaware…
What I’d give,
what I’d dare,
just to live one day out there.”
This shows that sometimes we take things for granted and don’t always realize what we have. He would give anything just to be able to live out there one day which is something everyone else takes for granted. He is being called and is accepting his call but is being held back by his protectors.
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This song shows how people can be discouraged to “break their bottle” and go outside of their regular world. People will warn you of the dangers of breaking out, but you cannot listen. You have to be willing to take risks and go for it. Even though the people who try to hold you back are usually the ones you are closest to, you have to keep your journey in mind and do what is best for you. While they are doing what they think is best beacause they love you so much, you have to remain focused and willing to take risks. This is a great song from an unbelievably underrated disney movie!
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I think these lines say it all:
The world is cruel.
The world is wicked.
It’s I alone whom you
can trust in this whole city.
I am your only friend.
I who keep you, teach you,
feed you, dress you.
I who look upon you
without fear.
How can I protect you, boy,
unless you
always stay in here?
Away in here?
Quasi Moto (sp?) wants to experience his hero journey and Frollo serves as his guardian by telling him that there is nothing out there for him but grief. Many guardians come in the form of a loved one, but Frollo ends up being more of a nemisis than a loved one in this story. Frollo definitely serves his purpose as guardian because Quasi Moto never goes out into the world until the festival happens.
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The world is wicked.
A protector is someone who shows love, but this type of love, in a way, keeps you from fufilling your destiny. Everyone must face challenges in order to learn. Protector may be protecting you from the difficult trials, but they also prevent you from seeking the obstacles to find something much greater. This song is just one explanation of a protector with good intentions that hinder a hero from fufilling his call. This song does a good job illistrating what many people encounter in life, a protector, such as a father, mother, or guardian.
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Frollo serves as Quasimodo’s “guardian” by telling him not to leave the safety of the cathedral. He tells him that the world outside is cruel and that there is nothing out there for him. I don’t think that Frollo is looking out for Quasimodo’s best interest though, he basically brainwashes him and makes Quasi think that he is “ugly” and a “monster”. He tries to make it so that he is in full control of Quasi by making him think that he is protecting him when in the end he turns out to be the enemy.
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This song is a great illistration of how a guardian can stop a hero from being able to embrace their call. Frollo tells Quasimodo that the world is a wicked place and that the people outside the cathedral will think that he is a monster. He is trying to convince Quasimodo that he needs to keep things the way they are and not leave the world he knows. Quasimodo listens to Frollo because he feels like he would always tell him the truth, even when it goes against his ideas and dreams
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so i have watched this movie way to many times to count..and when i take it literally that the old guy in the movie is singing this song…i think he’s trying to keep Quasi locked up for his (meaning the old guy) own purposes. I don’t think that Old Guy Frollo is the guardian at the gate…more of like a gatekeeper or something that has more of a negative conotation than a guardian. He still prevents Quasi from escaping his world (the bell towers) but its not for Quasi’s own good, more of to protect Frollo from any gypsy-ness or any defamation.
When you take the song as the song…without any movie background, i think that the guardian message is more previlent in that Frollo seems like more of that type of figure. He’s trying to protect Quisi from the ‘world’ which Frollo deems as more of a ‘bad’ place. Frollo’s trying to protect Quasi from all of the hatred and misery going on inthe world, and in doing so is keeping Quasi from following his destiny.
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