Rainbow Connection

Why are there so many songs about rainbows? Why am I so obsessed with this one song about rainbows?

Kermit the Frog is not exactly what I would consider a Gay Icon. Yet this song should be considered a Queer anthem. Originally The Rainbow Connection was written for the Muppet movie in 1997 by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher and was inspired by the Disney classic when you wish upon a star. It has a beautifully simple message of reaching for your dreams. The soft banjo takes you away from there and honestly I could write for 100 years and never come up with a better pride song it's beautiful in is subtly and moving in its simplicity.

There is something about the muppets that I connected with even as a young child. A bunch of weirdos and misunderstood oddballs just trying to find their place in the world struck a chord with my own nature. Watching them making it work with their chosen family. Helping each other to achieve dreams that they couldn’t do on their own spoke to me as the kind of world I wanted to be a part of. In so many ways it connected to my own feelings of being Queer. Going from the backwater swamps and dive bars to make it under the lights of Hollywood. I mean if that’s not the gay dream I am not sure what is.

Maybe it was the rainbow Studebaker, that whisked these two misfits off on a journey of friendship and fate painted by a collection of free spirit rockers just trying to help out a frog and a bear on the run. Perhaps it was Miss Piggy who is a queen that would put most Drag stars to shame.

Or it could have been the confusing nature of Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island. Seriously, did I want to be him or kiss him? Then of course there was also Tim Curry as Long John Silver. Let’s just say I watched that movie a lot.

Of course, we also can’t forget about Gonzo the loveable muppet who is in love with chickens. He is a ... whatever he is. The movie Muppets in space spoke to me on a personal level. Here was a character that just felt out of place in the world even though all of his friends were there trying to assure him he was where he needed to be. He knew he was different. He knew that out there somewhere in the cosmo there were people like him, and so did I. Muppets in space held all the feelings of not quite fitting in but not knowing why.

It’s not just the older classic movies either The Muppet Movie 2011 continues on this theme of finding yourself and finding where you belong. Our newest muppet member Walter is just a little bit different from everyone around him even his brother who loves him and try’s his best to understand. Walter like me just wanted to find where he belonged and in the end, that was in the loving arms of his muppet family. Not because his life was unpleasant or his birth family hated him but because he was simply compelled he needed to find where he belonged.

My little gay heart loved the Muppets, and they allowed me to love who I was. I saw myself in them as a child there was something different about me. It didn’t make me bad just different. As an adult, I have grown into a person who is kind, honest, and loving. I hope I’m the kind person who the muppets would be proud to have around.

At the right moment if this song comes on it can bring me to tears. It’s a simple, beautiful love song to the lovers, the dreamers, and me. I have selected for you a trio of covers of rainbow connection I hope you enjoy.

Starting with the Original -

This delightful rendition from Wille Nelson-

The version that always makes me cry-

Finally my personal favourite-

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you found a bit of the rainbow that you liked. Happy Pride.