Song of the Sisters



In Frozen, the only song that is sung by both Elsa and Anna is “For the First Time in Forever,” along with its reprise. Both versions show the major personality differences between the two sisters, including their vocal tones when they sing, the lyrics they each sing, and their actions. Also, in both versions, whenever the two sisters sing at the same time, one voice sounds stronger than the other. This is meant to show that one version is more about one sister over the other.

Original

The first version is performed on the morning of Elsa’s coronation. Once Anna wakes up and is reminded about the day, she quickly gets dressed and wanders around different parts of the castle during the song. Her first words refer to the film’s theme of doors, with “The window is open! So’s that door! I didn’t know they did that anymore!” While she sings in a fast, upbeat tone and dances and leaps around the castle, Anna expresses her happiness, excitement, and optimism at this new change, since the castle gates will open for the first time in years and she will get to meet lots of new people. She is especially hopeful that she will meet a man and fall in love with him.

While Anna sings the majority of the song, Elsa has a few lines of her own. In stark contrast to her sister, Elsa sings in a much slower and calmer tone. She is still very much consumed by fear due to a chance of her powers being exposed since she will be around so many people. She worries about how they might react if they discover her secret.

The only lines both girls sing throughout the song is “It’s only for today, it’s agony to wait.” But while they sing the very same words, the words provide two individual, different meanings. Since the gates will only be opened for this one day, Anna is just enthusiastic that they will be at all, and she can’t wait for everything to begin. But Elsa is relieved that they will be open just for one day, because she hopes nothing will happen that could reveal her powers, and she is eager for when it all ends and the gates are closed again.

When the guards open up the gates at last, Anna happily runs outside and scurries by everyone. At the same time, inside the castle, Elsa opens the doors to the library (where she has been staying until now), then walks slowly and gracefully down the hall and to the window to look outside. Anna skips into the town square as she sings about her chance of finding true love, while Elsa steps out onto the balcony and repeats her father’s words of “Conceal, don’t feel.”

While during this moment that the two sing simultaneously, Anna’s voice is the one that is stronger and more audible, which makes Elsa’s voice sound softer and more silent. It ties in to the fact that the song revolves more around Anna’s happy feelings during this summer day, bringing out her summer-like, cheerful, and fun demeanor. She continues to act all happy-go-lucky even when the song abruptly ends due to her running into Hans’s horse.



Reprise

The reprise is sung at Elsa’s ice palace after Elsa asks Anna to leave, insisting that she’s only trying to protect Anna from her magic. But Anna follows her, singing that she’s not afraid and just wants to help since she finally understands why Elsa did what she did. Like the original version, Anna sings the first lyrics and refers to doors: “Please don’t shut me out again! Please don’t slam the door! You don’t have to keep your distance anymore.” And even though she happy to see Anna, Elsa just wants to be left alone since she is free and able to be herself without harming anyone, believing that Arendelle and Anna are better off without her.

When Anna reveals to Elsa that she has caused an eternal winter in Arendelle and everywhere else she has been, Elsa, who clearly did not know, is in shock. Anna insists (and even persists) that Elsa can unfreeze it, but Elsa says that she doesn’t know how. When they start to sing again, their differences are shown just like in the full version of the song.

Anna sings optimistically, confident that she and Elsa can work this out and end the winter. But having been gloomy about her powers since the day she hit Anna as a child, Elsa grows fearful and guilty once more, so she sings pessimistically, lamenting over how she feels she can never be truly free with her abilities.

Now this time around, when the two sing, it is Elsa who sings with the more audible voice, which makes Anna’s voice less audible. The reprise of this song is now about Elsa and her depressed feelings. Her growing nervousness and agitation is not only represented by the winter she caused, but by the snow flurry that forms and intensifies in the room while she sings.

While they sing together, Anna continues to spur Elsa because they act the complete opposite about the situation. Finally, Elsa loses it and abruptly ends the song by yelling, “I CAN’T!” With a combination of negative emotions, from fear to anger, Elsa’s outburst makes her lose control and send dangerous ice flying from her body to all around the room. When some of this ice hits Anna in the chest, the ending music plays the melody to the last verse of “Frozen Heart.” This is because it was a foreshadowing of when Elsa strikes Anna in the heart.