General Overview

• Release Date – November 30 1988

• Album – Reel Life

• Artist – Boy meets Girl

• Track Info – Track 4

• Length – 4:33

• Genre – Popular

Four Questions

Who is the Protagonist?

A Guy in Love

What does he want?

His Dream Girl

Who's trying to stop him?

The impossible task of waiting for his dream girl to carry her heart into his arms.

What happens if he fails?

The eternal aching Death of unfulfilled love.

Three Conflicts

Public

N/A

Personal

Getting noticed by his dream girl.

Private

Overcoming personal doubts about this love ever working out.

Moral Premise

Virtue

Experiencing Love

Vice

Waiting for Love

Moral Premise

Waiting for Love leads to Eternal Excruciating Pain, but Experiencing Love leads to Eternal Bliss.

Characters

Narrator

• Function – Protagonist
• Character Arc – From Yearning to Waiting to Experiencing Love.

Love Interest

• Function – Romantic Interest
• Character Arc – From Waiting to Experiencing Love.

Archetypes

Sequence 1 – Orphan

• The Narrator is an Orphan because her name is a sound that makes him cry and his drive for her love is maddening, driving him to fantasizing.

Sequence 2 – Wanderer

• The Narrator is a Wanderer because after yearning for love, he realizes he must connect with this woman and he has no choice because he feels "so strong about her."

Sequence 3 – Warrior

• The Narrator is a Warrior because as the song continues, he fights for his dream girl and NO is not an option.

Sequence 4 – Martyr

• The Narrator is a Martyr because he realizes that waiting for his dream girl may be painful, but somehow the waiting blossoms his love even more and somehow, the cycle continues as his love grows and grows and grows.

Structure – Beat Sheet

Opening Image 0:00-0:20

Song starts with soft bell sounds, reminiscent of a divine-like sound, and this symbolizes the star coming down to Earth

Save the Cat 0:34-0:58

Verse 1
The Narrator explores his feelings

Catalyst 0:34-0:58

Verse 1
The Narrator realizes who she is

Theme Stated 0:58

Verse 1
The Narrator says that "happiness and love revolve around her."

Debate 0:59-1:13

Bridge 1
The Narrator realizes trying to catch her heart is like trying to catch a star, it's pointless, but he will die unless he makes it happen.

Break into Two 1:13

Bridge 1
The narrator has given us the situation.

B Story 1:15-1:39

The Narrator tells us his feelings through the Hook.

Fun and Games 1:40-2:04

After experiencing the hook and breathing in the words of Verse 2, we are drawn into the song, the situation, and we truly understand the Narrator's journey and his need for Transformation.

NOTE: At 1:49, after the Narrator spouts "lose that vision," a soft bell echoes in the background to let us know this is about True Love and not some fleeting conjectures of a hopeless romantic. It also enforces the balance between the Narrator's yearning and the Dreamgirl's mutual dilemma.

Though she seems far away, she is much closer and attainable than he realizes.

Midpoint 2:19

Bridge 2
The Narrator told us before about his love, but now we realize that it's not only his feelings at stake, we realize that distance is also playing a part in his pain from obtaining his true love.

Bad Guys Close In 2:46

Change
The Narrator's life and death hang in the balance, his dream girl responds!

All is Lost 2:46-3:06

Change
The Narrator is still forced to wait and his fears are coming true as he comments "It's so hard waiting."

Dark Night of the Soul 2:46-3:06

Change
The Narrator and Dreamgirl go back and forth and we wonder, will his dream come true?

Break into Three 3:07

Instrumental Break

The Sax is an interesting choice of emotional power because it captures the Narrator's emotional growth throughout the song.

During the intro, the Sax is a bit shy and complacent and it sits in the music, a bit in the background.

Now, when the Narrator realizes his Dream girl is closer and his dream is coming true, the Saxophone blares in the Instrumental Break and alerts the entire world – my dream has come true!

As a pure Symbol of their union, the Sax blares on and on in its turbulent style, but beneath it as the divine foundation, the soft bell and other instruments play the melody to remind the listener that love is still the foundation and though the Divine Marriage has happened, their union is not an end, but a beginning to something better.

Finale 3:34-4:20

Hook 3
We realize the Narrator has found true love and as the hook repeats, we start to question ourselves and wonder, where do I belong?

Closing Image

The Narrator sings the hook and we revel in his discovery and somehow, his transformation resonates and we begin to question ourselves, will this kind of love happen to me?

Structure – Arrangement

• Opening 0:00-0:20

• Intro 0:21-0:33

• Verse One - 0:34-0:58

• Bridge One - 0:59-1:13

• Hook One - 1:15-1:39

• Verse Two - 1:40-2:04

• Bridge Two - 2:05-2:19

• Hook Two - 2:21-2:45

• Change - 2:46-3:06

• Instrumental Break - 3:07-3:33

• Outro - 3:34-4:33