At twenty-one a girl begins to grasp the world and how it spins,
She grabs a box of safety pins and builds herself a home.
And home is safe, and home is fair, the porch, the bath, the kitchen chair,
The sharp and unfamiliar air that blow by blow, she comes to know,
To build herself a home, with a son, and a daughter…

elliesattlers:

IN PERFORMANCE | Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara performs a cappella version of “To Build a Home” from The Bridges of Madison County.

theatreaficionado:

Kelli O’Hara sings “To Build a Home” from The Bridges of Madison County at Carnegie Hall. 

“At twenty-one, a girl begins 
to grasp the world and how it spins. 
She grabs a box of safety pins 
and builds herself a home.”

Hi, lovely!

Honestly, I can’t pick only one, but because I listened to it a few minutes ago (that, and it is always on my mind) I’ll say To Build a Home. It means a lot to me because, aside from the fact that it opens the show and that cello fragment that repeats itself throughout is the most beautiful and heart-wrenching piece of music, it is the first insight and window we receive into Francesca’s life, character and nature. Kelli O’Hara as Francesca any time she has performed this song has been life changing, so passionately and deeply describing her life of disruptive change and adjustment, but also pouring so much love into these words that brings them and her story to life. 

Particular lyrics that have changed me for the better and will forever be a part of who I am 

• “at twenty-one, a girl begins to grasp the world and how it spins, she grabs a box of safety pins and builds herself a home.”
• “a million miles between, the fires she used to set, the hearts she used to break, the lies she used to tell, and the woman she grew up to be.”
  
• “I learn to speak, I learn to sew, I learn to let the longing go”
• “for eighteen years, It stays the same, for eighteen years, I’m proud I came, and built myself a home.”

To Build a Home to me, illustrates Francesca’s past shaping her future and her ability to make something beautiful out of the pieces of life she has collected and the chances that she has taken and been given, despite having to forgo so much of who she was, she has made something that was worth the pain, something that she is proud of and that she loves. While it sounds crazy, I deeply relate to that, not only because of where my family has come from, but because of who I am fundamentally as a person. The fact that I can relate to Francesca Johnson and all that she embodies was a main reason finding this show was so significant to me and probably why I’m so irrevocably in love with her (she is so unbelievably important!!!!!)

I am so sorry I constantly fail at being eloquent in any way when discussing this show, I just become a loquacious mess who can’t stop because everything about it, to me, is pivotal and so dear to my heart. I hope some of this made sense, and all that aside, it means this much to me because Kelli singing it is the greatest and most wonderful thing (and in my opinion, even that is an understatement). Watch for yourself and see!

lucenellapiazza:

To Build A Home - Kelli O’Hara | Jason Robert Brown & Friends @ Subculture 12.6.14

elliesattlers:

IN PERFORMANCE | Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara performs a cappella version of “To Build a Home” from The Bridges of Madison County.

and a million miles between
the fires she used to set,
the hearts she used to break,
the lies she used to tell,
and the woman she grew up
to be.

abb-yroad:

I learn to speak, I learn to sew, I learn to let the longing go.

lucenellapiazza:

To Build A Home - Kelli O’Hara | Jason Robert Brown & Friends @ Subculture 12.6.14

lilycravens:

“One song in particular that was brought to me in the second workshop that we did was my first introduction to who Francesca would become for me, and that was To Build a Home. I had never been presented with a piece of music I knew that I would feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life singing it.”

ilikebroadwaythings:

For some reason these videos are unlisted…. I’ve posted the only 2 from the original source. Kelli singing To Build A Home