Kermit the Frog's Secret Harvey Milk Song
An iffy lyrical analysis of "Rainbow Connection."
Willie Nelson and Kermit the Frog performed “Rainbow Connection” on March 14th at Nelson’s Luck Ranch in Spicewood, Texas.
(Pictured: Willie and Kermit. Willie is the one wearing a hat.)
Nelson previously covered this song that was originally the signature musical number from the 1979 film, “The Muppet Movie.” Vanity Fair describes the song as “one about spiritual search, higher callings, and the power of faith.” 1
The inspiring words sung by Kermit are reminiscent of someone else advocating for hope at the same time The Muppet Movie was in production. What if Rainbow Connection was secretly a tribute to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California? Some have causally associated Rainbow Connection with the gay rights movement since the song became known worldwide, but the thesis here is that the writers intentionally wrote Rainbow Connection with this underlying meaning.
Here’s the song in case you require a refresher.
Why are there so many songs about rainbows,
and what's on the other side?
The Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher penned song begins by asking this question. It is the first clue of a secondary intent once you realize there really aren’t that many songs about rainbows. “What’s on the other side” is a reference to the one notable rainbow song that Williams and Ascher want to direct your attention to, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Prior to their work with The Muppets and creator Jim Henson, the songwriters wrote for the soundtrack of the 1976 film, “A Star is Born,” with Kris Kristofferson and every gay man’s favorite actress at the time, Barbara Streisand. You may be familiar with it because of the 2018 remake featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga (how is that not the name of a Muppet?), but the 1976 film was a remake of a 1954 remake of the original 1937 film. (whew)
Who was the star of the 1954 movie that preceded Williams and Asher’s version? Judy Garland, who sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in “The Wizard of Oz.” Garland is beloved within the gay community due in large part to her performance in A Star is Born, as noted by Ellen C. Caldwell. 2
Gaga has large shoes to fill, but her casting also feels particularly fitting given all of the singers’ wildly devout queer fan base. In 2001, Brian Currid explored the 1954 version of A Star is Born, specifically analyzing Judy Garland’s role as a gay icon. He opens by saying, “Judy Garland’s queer cult is one of those ‘facts’ of American popular culture that—for ‘Americans’ at least—seems to require no explanation.”
Rainbows are visions,
but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.So we've been told and some choose to believe it,
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
The 1970’s saw the beginnings of a course correction in how gay people were viewed. In December of 1973, The American Psychiatric Association voted to no longer classify homosexuality as a mental disorder. Decriminalization laws passed in many cities and by the late 70’s, many wondered if they could trust that a real corner had been turned.
The internal debate within the above lyrics captures that hesitance. Was this a vision of progress to come, or an illusion? Do rainbows (i.e. gay people) now have nothing to hide? While some choose to believe in the legislative and attitudinal changes, the cynics knew they were wrong, just “wait and see.”
Someday we'll find it,
the rainbow connection,
A call to action is delivered to those listening to the song; find the rainbow connection. That connection was the creation of the rainbow flag, created by Gilbert Backer and first flown on June 25, 1978 at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
the lovers, the dreamers, and me.
“The lovers” references the gay community, a social group classified specifically by the characteristic of who they love. The song connects lovers with “the dreamers,” a reference to another social class and civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr and his I Have a Dream speech.
Kermit is the “and me” in the song. Co-writer Paul Williams said of Kermit: 3
The thing that is so human about the song, and spiritual at the same time, is that it honors the questions, not the answers. That moment made Kermit not the mentor, not the teacher, not the preacher. He became a seeker with the audience.
Kermit is perfect for this hero’s journey as his own sexual preferences can be questioned. How else do you explain why he is so emotionally unavailable to Miss Piggy? Miss Piggy is loud, abrasive, narcissistic, insecure, and habitually jealous; in other words, everything a man can’t resist in a woman.
It may say pig on her birth certificate but she is one stone-cold fox.
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered,
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that,
and someone believed it.
Look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing,
and what do we think we might see?
MLK had a dream. Milk had hope. On June 25, 1978, Milk delivered his version of wishing on the morning star with his Hope speech at San Francisco City Hall. It was the same day as the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, and that exact same day that the rainbow flag debuted. Milk said during the speech: 4
The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great.
“Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it” is a reference to him, while “Look what it’s done so far” is an articulation of the impact his election had on gays in San Francisco and around the world.
All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic.
Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Williams and Ascher cheekily introduce a prevailing fear in the 70’s about recognizing the homosexual community; gay people are intent on spreading their sexual preference to others. Harvey Milk’s Hope speech also began by alluding to it, when he said “My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you.”
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailor?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
The song continues to address these fears in having Kermit contemplate being seduced by the same temptation a young sailor, who is regularly isolated on a ship and surrounded exclusively by other men, might confront.
Was there any cultural symbolism connecting sailors and gay people at the time?
These gay icons, events, and symbols were all converging in society when Williams and Ascher wrote Rainbow Connection.
Would they have the freedom to introduce this subtext into a song written for a movie? Jim Henson gave free reign to Williams and Ascher. Williams explained as much in a 2019 interview with Stephen Deusner. 5
After the meeting, I was walking Jim to his car and I told him: Jim, I know how important this adventure is for you. It’s the first Muppet movie. So Kenny and I aren’t going to surprise you with anything. We’ll let you hear the songs as we’re working on them and make sure we’re headed in the right direction. And he said, “Oh no, Paul, that’s not necessary. I’ll hear them in the studio when you record.” Wow. To have that kind of confidence in the choices he had made, and to trust somebody with so much creative freedom was just remarkable.
The original script included minimal guidance.
La da da di da da doo.
La la da da da, dee dah dooo!
These final two lines conclude the song with a meaning so obvious that it doesn’t require explanation.
Afterword
There is an obstacle to this theory. A tight timeline of events casts doubts over what events happened before the writers finished the song.
(Jennifer Love Hewitt has nothing to do with this subject but, you know, it’s Jennifer Love Hewitt. If you’ve seen how she lifts her eyebrows while kissing Ethan Embry during that train station scene in “Can’t Hardly Wait,” you would agree her birth should be acknowledged whenever possible.)
There are hints within interviews and articles that Rainbow Connection was worked on after Ascher and Williams wrote the rest of the songs for the movie. Still, after minutes and minutes of research, no evidence was found to confirm when exactly the song was written.
This question may be an answer, in and of itself. Perhaps everyone involved in the movie’s production are intentionally vague about the timing to avoid questions like the ones posed here. After all, the best lie is the one that nobody makes you tell. Even in 2024, some people may not be ready to know that Rainbow Connection was a tribute to Harvey Milk and the gay rights movement.
Enjoyed this? You may also like:
https://speaktruthtoflour.substack.com/p/shaggys-secret-schizophrenia-song
Shaggy’s Secret Schizophrenia Song
(An iffy lyrical analysis of “It Wasn’t Me.”)
https://speaktruthtoflour.substack.com/p/christmas-cuckold
Christmas Cuckold? I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
(An iffy lyrical analysis & deep dive into writer Tommie Connor.)
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/06/rainbow-connection-muppet-movie-kermit-the-frog-making-of
"A Frog, a Banjo, and an Indelible Message: Making The Rainbow Connection,”
Donald Liebenson, Vanity Fair, June 21, 2019.
https://daily.jstor.org/did-a-star-is-born-make-judy-garland-a-gay-icon/
”Did A Star is Born Make Judy Garland a Gay Icon?” Ellen C. Caldwell, JSTOR Daily, October 2, 2018.
https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/the-rainbow-connection
”The Rainbow Connection,” The Henry Ford, June 3, 2021.
https://terpconnect.umd.edu/~jklumpp/ARD/MilkSpeech.pdf
The Hope Speech, Harvey Milk
https://thebluegrasssituation.com/read/the-rainbow-connection-at-40-paul-williams-reflects-on-kermit-the-frogs-banjo-classic/
”The Rainbow Connection at 40: Paul Williams reflects on Kermit the Frog’s Banjo Classic,” July 23, 2019, Stephen Deusner, The Bluegrass Situation.
God your hilarious.
Now please do Puff the Magic Drag IN. And how its about the rise and estabishment of weed in the USA ;)