J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice 2024!
Program Notes
Barbie may be a toy, but it’s incredibly human to wonder about one’s purpose. Greta Gerwig explored the question “What Was I Made For?” so beautifully in the film that I wanted to take my arrangement on a similar journey from uncertainty to hope. For me, comfort isn’t found in discovering exactly what I was made for, but in being okay with the lifelong curiosity of its pursuit. Just when I think I’ve got it figured out, something happens – say, an encounter at a mojo dojo casa house, or a figurative corporate capitalist goose chase – and suddenly I’m left wondering again. Those are the times I find solace in returning to the last place I felt connected to purpose: to wherever “I used to float.” And so, this arrangement ends where Billie’s thoughtful lyrics begin, with a floating quality that might lead us to a bit of lightness before we all begin another cycle of questioning.
Voicing:
SATB, SSA, TTB with Piano
Duration:
4 minutes
Music and Lyrics by Bille Eilish O’Connell and Finneas Baird O’Connell
Arranged by Jennifer Lucy Cook
I used to float, now I just fall downI used to know but I’m not sure nowWhat I was made forWhat was I made for?
Takin’ a drive, I was an idealLooked so alive, turns out I’m not realJust something you paid forWhat was I made for?
When did it end? All the enjoymentI’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriendIt’s not what he’s made forWhat was I made for?
