Here's some spoilerific background. Elphaba (accent on the first syllable), who would become the "Wicked" Witch of the West, has always wanted to meet the "Wonderful" Wizard of Oz. She discovers that not only is he not magical, but that he's behind the systematic oppression of talking animals throughout Oz, a group she sympathizes with and tries to help. Defying Gravity is her reaction to being used to help create a climate of fear, working out the truth, and then having to choose between being the wizard's stooge and being a fugitive.
Performance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3g4ekwTd6Ig
Lyrics:
I don't think there's a perfect analogy between the wizard and the LDS church, and IMO the points that don't match are precisely where the musical is a bit unrealistic. In the musical, the wizard knows he's a phony and is purposely oppressing animals. I think in the real world, he would have convinced himself that he really was magical, and that he was shutting up the animals for their own good.Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap!
It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you won't bring me down
I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change but 'til I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you won't bring me down
Unlimited (unlimited)
My future is (future is) unlimited (unlimited)
And I've just had a vision
Almost like a prophecy
I know it sounds truly crazy
And true, the vision's hazy
But I swear, someday I'll be...
Flying so high! (defying gravity)
Kiss me goodbye! (defying gravity)
So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately,
"Everyone deserves the chance to fly!"
I'm defying gravity!
And you won't bring me down, bring me down, bring me down!
One thing I really like is the implied analogy between gravity and the weight of cultural and legal requirements to just go along with the status quo.
