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Encanto · 2021 — Chapter 6 of 19 · 2'29" · B2

Mirabel Sings Waiting on a Miracle, Explained: move the mountains

Mirabel has just watched Antonio receive his Gift, and now, alone, she sings the ache of being the one Madrigal without one. She insists she is "still a part of the family Madrigal" and fine, then admits, "I'm not fine," and asks, "Am I too late for a miracle?"

What happens

After Antonio's Gift ceremony, the family celebrates while Mirabel slips away alone and sings "Waiting on a Miracle." She lists the things she cannot do — move mountains, make flowers bloom, heal what is broken — and says she is tired of waiting and hoping for a gift, ending by asking whether she is too late.

MonologuesConfessingComplainingB2slowamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

waiting on a miraclemove the mountainsstand on the sidekeep down

00:00 / 02:29
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Now
  1. ❝ MonologueMirabel waiting in the dark31 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

move the mountains

to do something seemingly impossible

米拉贝尔在歌里唱自己没有姐姐那样的天赋，连山都移不动，用移山来对照家人的了不起。

She can move mountains when she sets her mind to it.

Also in this scene

  • waiting on a miracle

    to wait passively for something wonderful to happen

  • stand on the side

    to stay out of the action and just watch

  • keep down

    to suppress or hold back a feeling

Everything marked in this scene

21 notes across 31 lines

Phrase · B1be upset or mad about somethingDon't be upset or mad at all
Phrase · B1feel regret about somethingDon't feel regret Or sad at all
Phrase · A2still be a part of somethingHey, I'm still a part Of the family Madrigal And I'm fine I am totally fine
Phrase · B1stand on the side

to stay out of the action and just watch

I will stand on the side As you shine
Grammar · B1As you shine

as-clause of accompanying action

I will stand on the side As you shine
Phrase · B2move mountains

to do something seemingly impossible

I can't move the mountains
Soundmove the mountains

liaison

I can't move the mountains
Phrase · B1make something bloomI can't make flowers bloom
Phrase · B1can't take another somethingI can't take another night Up in my room Waiting on a miracle
Phrase · B2heal what's brokenI can't heal what's broken
Grammar · B1heal what's broken

what-clause as object

I can't heal what's broken
Phrase · B1keep something down

to suppress or hold back a feeling

Can't keep down The unspoken invisible pain
Phrase · B1be waiting on a miracle

to wait passively for something wonderful to happen

Always waiting on a miracle A miracle
Soundwaiting on a miracle

liaison

Always waiting on a miracle A miracle
Phrase · B1all I need is somethingAll I need is a change
Phrase · A2let someone knowSomeone please Just let me know where do I go
Soundlet me know

weak form

Someone please Just let me know where do I go
Phrase · B1be sick of doing somethingI'm sick of waiting On a miracle So here I go I am ready Come on, I'm ready
Grammar · B1So here I go

inversion with here

I'm sick of waiting On a miracle So here I go I am ready Come on, I'm ready
Phrase · A2be too late for somethingAm I too late for a miracle?
Grammar · B2too late for a miracle

too + adjective + for

Am I too late for a miracle?

Mirabel Sings Waiting on a Miracle, explained

What's really going on

The song is Mirabel's private counterpoint to the ceremony we have just seen. On the surface she keeps up the family line, "I'm still a part of the family Madrigal, and I'm fine," but the next line tears it down, "I'm not fine." What she cannot do is the whole list of her relatives' Gifts, so she measures herself by their powers and finds nothing: she can't move the mountains, can't make flowers bloom, can't heal what's broken. The word she returns to is "miracle" — the magic that blessed everyone but her. She wants only "a change" and "a chance," not to outshine the family but to stop standing on the side and to be seen. The final question, "Am I too late for a miracle?", shows the wound the rest of the film will answer.

Theme

IdentityMirabel defines herself by the Gifts she lacks, singing that she cannot do what everyone else can.
LonelinessShe stands apart from the celebrating family, walking alone and asking to be seen for who she is.

What you'll learn

  • Use totally fine in a comparable exchange.
  • Listen for the attitude around totally fine.
  • Notice how the reply changes the scene.

Listen for

  • move the mountains — liaison
  • waiting on a miracle — liaison
  • let me know — weak form
I can't heal what's broken

One item in Mirabel's list of powers she does not have, echoing her mother's healing Gift that she did not inherit.

Someone please Just let me know where do I go

A plea for guidance: she does not know her place or purpose in a family where everyone else has one.

Am I too late for a miracle?

The song's final question, asking whether she has missed her chance ever to receive a Gift of her own.

I would move the mountains

The turn in the song: if given the chance, she would do the impossible, revealing her longing to prove her worth.

Questions about this scene

Why does Mirabel sing "Waiting on a Miracle"?

Antonio has just received his Gift, and Mirabel, the only Madrigal without one, slips away to voice the pain of being left out and her wish for magic of her own.

Why does Mirabel say she is fine and then say she is not?

Her first lines repeat the brave face she shows the family, that she is still part of the Madrigals and fine. The song lets the truth break through: she is not fine at all.

What does Mirabel want by the end of the song?

Not to outshine her family but to stop standing on the side. She asks for a change and a chance, and finally whether she is too late for a miracle.

Is Mirabel's lack of a Gift her fault?

No. The magic simply did not come to her the night of her ceremony. The song shows the hurt this leaves, not any wrongdoing on her part.

Encanto · 19 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7all in my headAbuela Denies the Cracks
Chapter 1in our darkest momentAbuela Tells Mirabel the Miracle StoryChapter 2Between you and meMirabel Introduces the MadrigalsChapter 3step asideMirabel Told to Step AsideChapter 4all to myselfMirabel Comforts Antonio Before His GiftChapter 5step into the lightAntonio's Gift CeremonyWatching · Chapter 6move the mountainsMirabel Sings Waiting on a MiracleChapter 7all in my headAbuela Denies the CracksChapter 8worth a shotMirabel Asks Dolores About the MagicChapter 9under the surfaceLuisa Sings Surface PressureChapter 10a heavy liftWe Don't Talk About BrunoChapter 11Fix your faceThe Proposal Dinner Falls ApartChapter 12assume the worstMirabel Finds Bruno Behind the WallsChapter 13get a bad rapMirabel Reenters Bruno's VisionChapter 14hug it outMirabel and Isabela Hug It OutChapter 15good enoughAbuela Blames Mirabel for the MiracleChapter 16let me help youThe Family Searches for MirabelChapter 17lose sight ofAbuela Apologizes to MirabelChapter 18want to helpBruno Defends MirabelChapter 19take after someoneThe Madrigals Rebuild Casita
Chapter 6 of 19 · about 49 min to go