Look to the Rainbow

Song Meaning

The lyrics introduce a charming legend from Glocca Morra: a promise of eternal youth and prosperity tied to looking beyond the immediate horizon. This tale, passed down from Sharon's father, is framed as an "elegant legacy," a "rhyme for your lip, and a song for your heart." It's presented not just as folklore, but as a personal mantra, a tool to be invoked "whenever the world falls apart." The central tension lies in the pursuit of this elusive, almost mythical promise. The narrator, Sharon, internalizes this legend, taking it as a directive to "look to the rainbow" and "follow it over the hill and stream." This isn't a passive hope; it's an active quest, a commitment to "follow the fellow who follows a dream." The act of following a dream becomes the tangible path toward the rainbow's implied fulfillment. The most striking element is the transformation of a simple legend into a deeply personal, active philosophy of life. The repeated imperative, "Look, look, look to the rainbow," functions as an incantation, urging continuous engagement with the ideal. The lyrics suggest that the true treasure isn't the rainbow itself, but the spirit of the seeker, the "fellow who follows a dream," whose journey mirrors the narrator's own lifelong search. This pursuit is ultimately framed as a romantic quest, culminating in the hope of finding the rainbow's essence "in my own true love's eyes." This song resonates because it grounds an abstract ideal in concrete, relatable actions and emotions. The narrative arc moves from inherited wisdom to personal experience, from a general legend to a specific, heartfelt search. The lyrics effectively capture the enduring human impulse to seek something more, to chase a vision, and to find profound meaning in the very act of striving, especially when that striving is intertwined with love.