CÉLINE DION - HOW DOES A MOMENT LAST FOREVER

HOW DOES A MOMENT LAST FOREVER

CÉLINE DION

SONGWRITERS: TIM RICE & ALAN MENKEN

WHERE: LIVE IN LAS VEGAS

COUNTRY: CANADA

ALBUM: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

LABEL: WALT DISNEY RECORDS

GENRE: SOUNDTRACK

YEAR: 2017

"How Does a Moment Last Forever" is a song written by lyricist Tim Rice and composer Alan Menken for the Disney live action film Beauty and the Beast(2017), a remake of the animated musical of the same name. This Broadway-inspired ballad is performed in the movie by American actor Kevin Kline in his role as Maurice. It describes the relationship between his character and that of his wife, Belle's deceased mother. Later in the film, Belle (Emma Watson) performs the song as she discovers the truth about her mother's fate. "How Does a Moment Last Forever" was also recorded by Canadian pop Singer Celine Dion, whose version was also included on the film's soundtrack, released on March 10, 2017. Her version plays over the ending credits of the film.

In the original animated film, Maurice does not sing at all. The remake, however, explores both Belle's and the Beast's past. Belle's backstory serves to build a foundation for her relationship with the Beast. For director Bill Condon, adding detail to both Belle's and the Beast's past was necessary for the audiences to understand the characters: "They're both outsiders, but how did Belle wind up being so different from everybody else in a town where nobody understands her, and how did the Beast become the person who earned that curse? That's the stuff we started to fill in", he said.

"How Does a Moment Last Forever" is a ballad and its lyrics deals with the theme of nostalgia. According to Menken, it’s about hanging on to precious moments. In Beauty and the Beast, it is performed twice, first by Maurice when he reminisces about his deceased wife and later by Belle after she discovers her mother's fate. Dion was contacted to record a pop version of the song. Although she initially had doubts, she utimately agreed because of the impact that recording "Beauty and the Beast" has had on her career. Although she was unable to promote her version, which prompted Disney to release "Evermore" as a single instead, the song has made an impact in certain countries due to the film's success at the box office. It was met with generally positive reviews from critics. However, some felt that the song is unmemorable and compared it negatively to other songs recorded by Dion for movie soundtracks.

How does a moment last forever?

How can a story never die?

It is love we must hold onto

Never easy, but we try

Sometimes our happiness is captured

Somehow, our time and place stand still

Love lives on inside our hearts and always will

Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone

But when all else has been forgotten

Still our song lives on

Maybe some moments weren't so perfect

Maybe some memories not so sweet

But we have to know some bad times

Or our lives are incomplete

Then when the shadows overtake us

Just when we feel all hope is gone

We'll hear our song and know once more

Our love lives on

How does a moment last forever?

How does our happiness endure?

Through the darkest of our troubles

Love is beauty, love is pure

Love pays no mind to desolation

It flows like a river through the soul

Protects, proceeds and perseveres

And makes us whole

Minutes turn to hours, days to years and gone

But when all else has been forgotten

Still our song lives on

How does a moment last forever

When our song lives on.