What song is Buffy's song "something to sing about" reminding me of?

April 6, 2015 6:11 AM

In the musical episode Buffy's song (as well as the melody from that song in the opening credits) sounds incredibly familiar. I know that "walk through the fire" was a cover, but I can't find anything on this one. Does anyone have any clue what songs it is reminiscent of?
posted by wooh to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

(Walk through fire isn't a cover. All the songs were written by Whedon). Wikipedia says that Whedon was inspired by the opening of The Little Mermaid when writing Buffy's opening song -- is that what you are thinking of?
posted by girlpublisher at 7:02 AM on April 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

"Buffy's opening number, "Going Through the Motions", was influenced heavily by the Disney song "Part of Your World" sung by Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Whedon wanted to use a similar opening in which the heroine explains her yearning. While singing her song, Buffy fights three vampires and a demon who themselves break into a choreographed dance; Whedon wanted this to be fun but not distracting. The song ends with chord influences from Stephen Schwartz's Pippin and a visual tribute to Disney: as Buffy stakes a vampire, it turns to dust that swirls around her face."

--Wikipedia
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:04 AM on April 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's an "I wish" song--pretty much every musical and Disney movie opens with one.
posted by chaiminda at 7:45 AM on April 6, 2015

(I believe Asker is looking for info on Buffy's climactic number, not the opening "Going Through the Motions."
posted by yellowbinder at 8:36 AM on April 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: yellowbinder is correct... in the overture it has the melody from the song he linked, yeah
posted by wooh at 6:22 PM on April 6, 2015

Can you specify which part of that song you mean? what is she singing lyrically, or what time in that youtube clip? that song has all kinds of things going on, so it's hard to know where you mean.
posted by miles1972 at 11:11 PM on April 6, 2015

I was actually just watching the Season 3 episode "Amends" and I thought I heard the same melody from 'Going Through the Motions'. Listen for it at : 1:55.

Magic Snow
posted by duckus at 5:54 PM on April 14, 2015