Julie Andrews got her big break when her stepfather introduced her to Val Parnell, whose Moss Empires controlled prominent venues in London. Andrews made her professional solo debut at the London Hippodrome singing the difficult aria "Je Suis Titania" from Mignon as part of a musical revue called "Starlight Roof" on 22 October 1947.
Andrews gained fame at a young age in 1950s Britain by acting and singing on light entertainment radio programmes such as "Educating Archie". She rose to international prominence after starring in Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot, as well as musical films like Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965).
Andrews had a major revival of her film career in the 2000s, in children's films such as The Princess Diaries (2001), its sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), and the Shrek animated films (2004-2007). In 2005, Andrews made her debut as a stage director with a revival of The Boy Friend, in which she also made her Broadway acting debut in 1954.
She was married with Blake Edwards in 1965 until his death in 2010.
Prelude / The Sound Of Music
Julie Andrews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
That rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
Stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more
The iconic opening song from the 1965 musical film 'The Sound Of Music', sung by the lead character Maria (Julie Andrews), is a joyful and uplifting piece about the beauty of nature and the power of music to uplift the soul. The lyrics in the opening verse, "The hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for a thousand years", convey a sense of awe and reverence for the natural beauty of the surroundings, as well as a connection to the past, highlighted by the reference to the songs that have been sung for hundreds of years.
The next two verses, "My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds, that rise from the lake to the trees" and "My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies from a church on a breeze", illustrate the desire to be part of the natural surroundings and in tune with the rhythms of nature. In the final verse, "I go to the hills when my heart is lonely, I know I will hear what I've heard before, my heart will be blessed with the sound of music, and I'll sing once more", the singer looks to music as a source of comfort and inspiration in times of loneliness, and finds solace in the beauty of nature and the joy of singing.
Overall, 'The Sound Of Music' opening song is a hymn to the beauty of nature and the power of music to nourish the soul, and sets the tone for the entire movie.
Line by Line Meaning
The hills are alive with the sound of music
The hills are filled with the sound of music that has been sung for centuries.
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
These songs have been sung for generations, across cultures.
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
The music in the hills is so inspiring that it fills one's whole being.
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
The music is so enthralling that it makes one want to sing every single song that one hears.
My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
The music is so uplifting that it makes one's heart beat like the wings of a bird.
That rise from the lake to the trees
The birds are flying from the lake to the trees and their wings represent the rhythm of the heart.
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
The music is so beautiful that it makes one's heart want to sigh like a chime that has been set free and is soaring through the air.
From a church on a breeze
The chime could be from a church and is carried by the breeze.
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
The sound of the music is so joyous that it makes one want to laugh like a brook that is tumbling over rocks.
Stones on its way
The rocks represent the obstacles in life but the brook's laughter overcomes them all.
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray
The music is so inspiring that one wants to sing through the night, expressing gratitude to the higher power like a lark who is learning to pray.
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
One goes to the hills when one's heart is lonely, to be comforted by the music that has given solace to many before.
I know I will hear what I've heard before
The music never changes and is always there to provide comfort and solace.
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
The sound of the music is so powerful that it becomes a blessing for the heart.
And I'll sing once more
The music inspires one to sing again, despite any earlier hardships.
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind