Why Rainbow Connection Is A Muppet Masterpiece | Dreamsounds

What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
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The pieces of media and music featured in this video are quoted for critical and educational purposes. Those looking to completely understand the pieces are encouraged to purchase the original works.
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Donate on Patreon: / dreamsounds
One-time Paypal Donation: www.paypal.me/...
Follow me on Twitter: / dreamsoundsvid
Listen to Awksymoron: awksymoron.band...
A great video from Sideways that elaborates on the pop music chord trope: • 4 chords
More info on Disney theme park melodies: • Why Are Disney Theme P...
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VIDEO AND PHOTO SOURCES (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE):
Doja Cat, "Say So": • Doja Cat - Say So (Off...
Justin Bieber, "Yummy": • Justin Bieber - Yummy ...
Bukka White, "Poor Boy Long Way from Home": • Booker White - Poor Bo...
The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations (The Lost Studio Footage)": • Video
Jim Henson, "The Muppet Movie": www.imdb.com/t...
Walt Disney Studios, "Pinnochio": movies.disney....
Willie Nelson, "Rainbow Connection": en.wikipedia.o...)
Judy Collins, "Running for My Life": en.wikipedia.o...
The Tennessean, "Story Behind the Song: 'The Rainbow Connection": • Story Behind the Song:...
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MUSIC USED:
Jose Benjamin Escobar, "Frank Mason's Piano":
josebenjamin.b...
"It's Fun to Be Free - 1970s Jetplane Version": • World of Motion - It's...
Jose Benjamin Escobar, "Kinderszenen Op. 15" by Robert Schumann:
josebenjamin.b...
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OTHER SOURCES:
Wiser, Carl. “Paul Williams: Songwriter Interviews.” Songfacts, www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/paul-williams.
#Muppets #Disney #🌈

[@DreamsoundsVideo]

Please check out Awksymoron!! This video could not have been done without Athena's insight and wonderful singing at the end❤️️🌈 awksymoron.bandcamp.com/ awksymoron.bandcamp.com/ awksymoron.bandcamp.com/

[@katherinelynch4193]

Life’s like a movie Write your own ending Keep believing, keep pretending We’ve done just what we set out to do Thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, And you!

[@searchingfororion]

This was the reprise I asked them if they were going to be addressing in this vid. So glad someone fancored hard enough to connect! 💞

[@olivia_rcr]

This is like my life’s motto, it’s such a beautiful scene and the lyrics are great, too

[@megalo_64]

*Sweetums bursts through the projection screen* OHOHOHO! I just knew I’d catch up with you guys!

[@Lapis.hnk.1984]

Cringe but very true

[@Cytrusowy_Lunatyk]

​@@Lapis.hnk.1984"Once I accepted that I was cringe, I was free to become my true self"

[@FleurMarigold]

faith, hope, innocence, wonder, magic, simplicity - humanity. it gives us a little dose of what we all need more of in life. 💕✨🌸⛅🌈

[@itskirino7336]

This song got my sister and I through a stressful situation growing up. It still does. She’s 6, I’m 18. Whenever somebody in the house is fighting, which is a lot, I just take her into her room sit down and sing these songs to drown that all out. Here Comes a Thought, Everything Stays, and of course Rainbow Connection are her favorites. I used to sing this song to help her fall asleep as a baby

[@itskirino7336]

@Miss Chalk thank you but I’m a brother

[@Hakajin]

That's hard, but also beautiful! The song of my soul is "Kindle My Heart" from the movie "A Little Princess." ...That would actually be a great movie to show your sister, the 90s version. It has a couple of problematic tropes, but it's a powerful movie overall. That particular song... One time I dreamed about it. I think I'd dreamed about it before, but this time, I recognized it, and it was so clear... It didn't even feel like it was coming from me. I could still hear it fading away when I woke up, and... I feel like I recently found my life's purpose, and it felt like a sign, because... The feeling I got in my dream was one of love, purity, and deep connection to the universe. Which sounds pretty woo, but... That' show it felt.

[@test-zl3fz]

your an amazing brother ! I wish you the best and remember your amazing stay safe

[@sarinabina5487]

thats so sweet! i hope one day u guys wont have 2 deal with that fighting anymore. i hope both u and ur sister have an amazing life💖💖

[@lizor.b.k.1255]

Sweet

[@3dnygma]

In episode 7 of the 2015 ABC series "The Muppets", Kermit struggles with the stress that work is causing him. in typical Muppets fashion, there's chaos everywhere, everybody else relies on him, and he never allows himself to catch a break. this struggle continues for the entire episode, until Rowlf tells Kermit to...embrace his roots. the episode ends with Kermit sitting on a small, artificial pond next to his huge L.A. mansion. it used to be a pool, but now it almost feels like home. he's taking in the quiet, then takes his banjo and starts singing about Rainbows. when a neighbour makes an annoyed comment regarding the music, he does not stop. his dream of making it in Hollywood came true - but there are still so many unanswered questions he has about life. but that's alright. he's looking back at his past hopeful self and just maybe realizes that life's not only about finding The Rainbow Connection, but also about relocating it after you've accidentally left it somewhere on the counter like a pair of glasses. thank you so much for this video 💚 aside from my love for Kermit and Jim Henson's works in general, this song really sticks with me because it acknowledges the cynic thought processes many of us experience in our adult lives. as a kid, it's easy to believe that all of our dreams can come true and that there's magic behind rainbows. but once you get older, you find yourself questioning those blindly hopeful lyrics. Rainbow Connection, however, takes this hopeful notion a step further by stating that Rainbows and other symbols of hope help us not because they have some sort of intrinsic power....but because we CHOOSE to believe in them despite all odds. other Muppet songs with similar emotional vibes worth noting are I'm Going to Go Back There Someday, It's Not Easy Being Green and Saying Goodbye. hope you'll make another Muppet video someday 😊

[@searchingfororion]

I was really disappointed they discontinued that series (and what they did to Jim Henson's "heir" for Kermit as the result. Also I love "I'm going to go back there one day" - catch me at the right time and I actually cry.

[@3dnygma]

@@searchingfororion yes I'm quite sad about the cancellation as well

[@jarredrozelle8145]

I think that was the most well thought out and meticulously written commet I've found on this site. Your concepts themselves are revolutionary and yet so obvious at the same time. The way you write your ideas is encapsulating and a true joy to read. Never stop dreaming and never stop creating!

[@3dnygma]

@@jarredrozelle8145 thanks!

[@olivia_rcr]

I’m going to go back there someday is a beautiful song

[@sampeacaml9307]

Rainbow Connection is the kind of song that is so universal that it makes everyone in the theater waves their cellphones or lighters at once and sing along because it resonates so much with everyone...

[@coquimapping8680]

There’s another of seeing it and that’s in the context of the movie. “Rainbow Connection” is Kermit’s I want song, a song about desire, longing, yearning. When the man on the boat tells Kermit that he could make million of people happy, Kermit is in shock and realizes that that’s his dream. He goes to Hollywood and meets his Muppet friends along the way. The interesting thing is that all of them have dreams, and go together to follow their dreams. They connect. At the end of the movie, a rainbow comes through the ceiling. All of the Muppets are amazed and Kermit sings Henson’s famous words “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending”. They reached their dream, their own ending. It’s like they know that they reached their dream and are satisfied, but astonished that they did want they wanted for so long. And they all did it together, their paths connected. So to me, the rainbow connection is a path that connects to other peoples paths to their dreams. That is what so good about this song, it’s so vague so we can analyze it any way and it’s still beautiful. Somehow, its message is vague, but clear. I think this is the first time I ever cried at a movie. Jim Henson was truly a man of expression.

[@maybunny25]

Honestly I'm a big fan of Jim Henson and I think Paul Williams is a wonderful song writter. It's so hard to put into words what makes Rainbow Connection so special. I think it's just the hope and finding something that can connect us all. Sometimes I cry when I hear Rainbow Connection.

[@LauraCrone]

I love what turning this song into a duet does for it!

[@vanessag5559]

YESSS i literally love this song it always brings me to tears listening to it

[@randomentertainingvideos3545]

This'll be a different type of tears. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKCvXoGaib1obbM

[@killjoy516]

I've always loved this song as a child, but it wasn't until I got deeper into my teens that I had a deep connection with it. I didn't really understand it until I put the word _longing_ to it. A melancholy yearning for something you can't quite grasp or even put a name to, but without it your heart aches tremendously. I still haven't found whatever it is I'm looking for, but this song always gives me the reassurance that I'll find it eventually. That there are others just like me searching for the great big something.

[@i-love-portal]

The line “Have you been fast asleep and have you heard voices? I hear them calling my name” already gets me.

[@theotherjared9824]

I always thought kermit was talking about himself in both perspectives. His character was always fickle and stuck in his ways, the voice of reason that gets testy with the crazier characters. That's why he initially rejected leaving his swamp. Still, he took a chance on going to Hollywood and believed in himself. Everyone he met along the way either dragged him down or stood in his way. The stress was enough to break him and stop believing for a bit. Still, he listened to himself and kept believing, which led to fame and fortune.

[@OhLiveVia]

When I was a kid, my parents played a mix CD with this song on it all the time, but I've somehow never seen the movie. You've inspired me to finally watch it this weekend 🌈

[@searchingfororion]

Oh it's utterly fabulous and you'll be so impressed with the cameos!

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

I think it is a masterpiece. It brings me to tears every time. I suffer from decades long crippling depression. This song speaks of hope. Today was bad. Maybe tomorrow will be different. Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers and me.

[@tomdalsin5175]

I've heard this song done by many, but there's something powerful about how Kermit sang it. Maybe it's because, as a kid, before the movie, I've seen Kermit struggle and struggle, from one mishap to another. Sesame Street, the Muppet Show, through it all I was kind of hoping he would get a lucky break. He always had that integrity and earnestness and honesty to him, and he always seemed hopeful and took responsibility. He was the little green guy we all looked up to, and also felt sorry for. When the song comes from him, from his not-a-singer's-voice, it feels more genuine, like it's from a friend. When it's a friend who's lived the life Kermit lived, a guy who's hope never died despite a lifetime of disappointment, that hope becomes profound enough to inspire tears.

[@nerdychocobo]

This video made me realise that actually my only exposure to the rainbow connection is the fullmetal alchemist bloopers

[@crystalfairy912]

CAPTAIN BUCANEEEEEEERRRRRRR

[@lycanthropic_]

Oh yeah, grandma told me to tell you all that she's making stew tonight!

[@scottpilgrimvsyourmother]

@@lycanthropic_ Fuck Yeah!!

[@lanatherana157]

One of my favorite songs of all time. It's beautiful in a simple and truthful way I find is rare 💞

[@SeSeMittens]

It's one of my favourite songs since I first heard it (and is truly a song I get just let my tears flow and feel better) It's so wonderful and hopeful. Especially in this moment in time it feels like a warm hug from a friend whispering "Maybe we can do this together. It might seem impossible now but you are not alone. There is so much goodness in this world. Don't give up"

[@newtpollution]

In my opinion The Rainbow Connection is the best song ever written and no cover has nearly the same heart as the Kermit version

[@LiliOfTheValleyIZkewl]

I love Rainbow Connection, I learned the words and recorded a cruddy cover of it for my older brother's 20th birthday. I didn't finish it on time,or ever show it to him but I can't help but get sentimental when I hear it. It makes me think of him. My older brother has loved Kermit and Muppets for as long as I can remember. And I, being the clingy autistic younger sibling I am, grew to love them too because I always wanted to be just like him. And eventually my love for muppets grew into a love of puppets as a whole. He was my idol, and one of the few constant people I saw semi often besides my younger brother and my grandma. My parents worked a lot, and I couldn't really hold many conversations with anyone, especially not my grandma because I wasn't (and still aren't) good with Spanish or good at talking to people. But my older brother would always listen to me and try and connect with me even if he didn't care or understand about what I was speaking of. And whatever he'd show me, big or small I'd remember it. Because he's only my half brother and my dad only had partial custody of him, so I'd only get to see him 3 maybe 4 days a week. Or if I was unlucky only every few weeks. And even though I'd see him infrequently as I got older, he was there when I needed him. I still don't see him as often as I'd like to, but I've always looked up to him. And recently as I've gotten older I feel closer to to him then I ever have.

[@marioricomeza2839]

That was such a great cover, so many goosebumps, whoever you are, I hope you find the rainbow connection

[@NightAtTheOpera3]

That rendition of Rainbow Connection at the end is bar none one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. It brought tears to my eyes.

[@mimipeahes5848]

Ughhh I love this video so much! I can relate so much to that frustration in defending popular music, people are so quick to disregard that emotional connection just because it’s one shared by many people. You’re so right that it takes a lot of skill to be able to earnestly and skillfully convey such feelings with relatively few tools. Thanks for the video on one of my favorite songs ❤️

[@BloodylocksBathory]

Gaaahhh I just love Paul Williams so much. His soundtrack for Muppet Christmas Carol is excellent and catchy too.

[@milojared6986]

omg the singing at the end i have chills

[@Gigan10610]

RIP The Muppet Man, Jim

[@mfourni4]

I have to say I didn't know that song, and your cover of it at the end of your video just made me cry. I don't know if this is due to the softness of your singing, the song itself or the message it carries, but probably those three factors at the same time. Thanks for sharing this.

[@sofivazquez1271]

On these trying times, this video was amazing at reminding us what life is all about. Thank you for sharing your rainbow connection with us.

[@thecrookedcap]

That was a gorgeous rendition at the end.

[@LunamFlore]

outside of their presence in Sesame Street, I didn't grow up on any Muppets content. Yours and Awksymoron's cover is my first experience listening to the song in full and I gotta say, I've been blessed.

[@getacluelou]

my favorite muppet songs

[@sampeacaml9307]

That metaphor of the mirror regarding Rainbow Connection was perfectly on point, bravo!

[@DUDLEYLETMEPLAYPS2]

I love this song.❤❤

[@savannaherickson6895]

this melts my heart absolutely beautiful

[@DaniPopplio]

Why is it that hearing you sing always makes me cry? 😂 But seriously, I loved this vid, Rainbow Connection is one of mi fav songs and I couldn't exactly tell why but you put it in words perfectly 💖

[@popado1121]

Your videos are so interesting and inspiring. The way in which you dissect Disney music is really fantastic

[@searchingfororion]

So bummed that I missed the premiere again. I want to say that I love your montages - in this case, a lovely visual of the mirror metaphor used showing your mutual lives. (Additionally it's very nice for someone to put a potential strobe warning. The only part that was slightly an issue for my epilepsy was the spinning prisum ball for a brief second until it panned up to the rainbows on the ceiling.)

[@peaceangel-rl2hf]

This song makes me very sad, it's full of melancholy. A realisation that mny of us may not have any of our dreams fulfilled by wishing on a rainbow...our dreams may be out of our reach...although we may still hold on to some hope, at the end it is pointless to wish on a rainbow

[@NuNugirl]

Kennith William Kramer is three days old and I can’t wait to sing him this song, just like I sang it for his Daddy 36 years ago. His Daddy will be 36 in 6 days. It will be my birthday present for the both of them.🥳🥰❤️

[@canine8284]

I've been watching your videos for a while, but this. this is the video for me. The Muppets are so, so, so important to me, _especially_ Kermit and The Muppet Movie. Rainbow Connection is the fuel that keeps me going through the long nights and the tough deadlines. I very greatly want to, one day, be able to sing, as it as been sung to me as it inspires me every time I hear it: Life's like a movie, write your own ending Keep believing, keep pretending We've done just what we've set out to do Thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and you.

[@zorkwhouse8125]

I think its also weird how songs can impact different people in very different ways. I think this song is incredible as well, but to me its depressing as all get out rather than hopeful, as a number of other comentors have noted. But I think some of it has to do with nostalgia and memories of the movie/song, but the lyrics too - I dunno. You also mentioned "Somewhere over the rainbow" and to me that one is incredibly sad also. So I guess it is colored by ones personal mindset/worldviews etc..

[@katherinelynch4193]

I’ll be honest here - as much as I love “Rainbow Connection”, I think it’s overplayed, especially these days. In Jim Henson’s lifetime, he sang “Rainbow Connection” as Kermit seven times. Matt Vogel only inherited Kermit three years ago and he’s already performed it 14 times. I get that the Muppets are nowhere near the juggernauts of Disney’s other properties and there’s a need to stick with what people will recognize, but it just makes the whole colorful, eclectic world of Jim Henson feel small and detracts from the power of this individual song. There are plenty of other great Muppet songs, both original and licensed (which is why the current Disney+ show with no music at all is so lacking, but that’s another issue). A wider breadth of Muppet musicality could show off what these characters are capable of, and (I hope) bring more fans into the fold.

[@mimipeahes5848]

I do agree that there a lots of other great muppet songs (I love Its Not Easy Being Green and The First Time it Happens among many others), but I can’t say I’m surprised that the current Disney is focusing primarily on Rainbow Connection since that’s the song the average audience would have nostalgia for.

[@beatrixwickson8477]

Yeah, Disney are going to tarnish this just like Binary Sunset. Would it kill them to give *I'm Going to Go Back There Someday* some love?

[@shellymanway9250]

Exactly, that's what I've been arguing for years now.

[@brooklynnbaca]

wonderful content as always! the insight from both of you was profound!!

[@deathcrist2000]

Love the Marx flowerpot.

[@tenarakunn]

God wow...another fantastic cover and...just i've always wondered why this song had such a cultural stamp Now i get it...

[@tamarinico]

lovely video as always and wonderful cover!

[@markc5406]

Doesn't hurt that RAINBOW CONNECTION was written by the musical genius, Paul Williams.

[@falcoskywolf]

One of the MYRIAD things I love about The Rainbow Connection is that, as an "I Want Song," it's unusually framed- it's written as though it's an ordinary song Kermit might have written instead of a Musical Number that spontaneously erupts to tell us about his character. It feels like a real-world song instead of something written FOR Kermit. They nailed his character so well that they managed to make us feel like a little banjo-wielding frog wrote it while daydreaming in a swamp. It feels like his own song instead of a theatrical setpiece.

[@KyleRDent]

This was the first dance song at my friends' wedding :)

[@happykermit7221]

WHOLESOME AS HYUK I LOVE IT

[@biancabrooks280]

I can’t wait, let’s GOOOOO!!! 🤩🥳🤩🥳

[@im19ice3]

you're my favourite critic because you are never self-rightously pedantic. idk what it is that makes some critics sound so patronising, like they have it all figured out and they're doing the people a favour explaining it 9_9 it does whatever the opposite of art is! that attitude crushes (for me) the connection i felt by communicating indirectly through time and space with a whole other person (like some kind of fuckn magic!), maybe even the whole lot of lives that also made that non-human contact and also felt through it more human than usual?! to try to sever that because there's a ''wrong'' and ''right'' way to feel about what is basically a message untethered to our limited mortal experience?!?! :/ ironically counterproductive

[@NixPix]

Another awesome video

[@mrplatink]

I had a "50 Reasons why The Great Muppet Caper's opening number 'It's A Movie!' was the best Muppet opening ever" article I meant to publish... But, I guess that I won't be doing that now that I've seen this vid...! lol What I appreciate most about "Rainbow Connection" is the META involved. You are asked to believe...WHILE you believe Kermit, an inanimate sock puppet, is ALIVE, singing, playing a banjo, moving his hands, arms, head, mouth, body, all while being operated "with rainbow-like magic" by a named Jim, several feet underneath a log. Movie magic is a powerful force of belief!

[@thayse_thay]

🐸🌈💖 lovely as always

[@ashrimpcalledhank]

I feel what makes a great song, is one that speaks to you on a personal level. At the same time there are songs and musians that I can't re;ate to, but I won't deny that they are good. For example, I have never to relate to or even enjoy Christina Agulara, but I won't dispute that she she stands at least equal to say Madonna, shes an icon and a voice to millions. I was born in 1971, befire home video. During tha 1970s Disney was in a lull, yes there were The Aristocrats and Robin Hood. Mosy of Disney was family and nature films. Also the economy was in a slup, going to the movies was a luxury. People were rally picky wat to watch. However, I could see the Muppets almost daily on TV. Either on Sesame Street, or the Muppet Show once a week. Truthfully, what makes the Rainbow Connection so personally to me still neary 50 years later, is as a boy and even now, I was an voratious reader with an imaginayion as big as the univerce. As long as I can remeber people have called me a dreamer and a hopeless romantic (more hopeless, than romantic). As Yoda would say of Luke, All his life he has looked away, to the future to the horizon. Never his mind on what he was doing. I grew up with Kermit I admired him, yes he was funny, friendly, Patient and kind. mosy of all, he was wise, I had learned many things from him I still value, He knew when to have fun and when to me mature, but most of all he was a dreamer like me. Have you been half asleep And have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name Is this the sweet sound That calls the young sailors? 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 I'm 53 now, I grew up and even raised a family to adulthood, and yet I still hear those voices. Telling me there is still a need for me.

[@mastermarkus5307]

I think some things become hits because some people are kind of... simple. I wouldn't consider myself the biggest music snob, but not everyone has exactly what you'd call a "refined palate", nor do they necessarily seek out music that maybe they would like the most if they managed to hear it.

[@perdomdoms3108]

YES!!

[@UtopianMagic1408]

Omg ur singin is amazing

[@Sidneychu129]

2:44

[@dragonfire810]

Is Candle on the Water is a beautiful romantic song?

[@katherinelynch4193]

Can we hope for more Muppet videos in the future?

[@mous3cheater97]

4:29 The wizard oOoOzZz...

[@HeatherLandon227]

About the intro- the thing I hate about some modern pop music is autotuning so much to the point where it makes Emma Watson's Belle sound fantastic. I nickname those songs as Autotune Central.

[@dianelong6886]

America This song is much needed today more so then Ever 2020

[@frogoverlord3471]

I put rainbow conection on my sleep playlists aswell as my pride playlists bc 🌈rainbow🌈 And you just gave me an idea for if I get married :D

[@themangoman9315]

The amazing atheist was on to something when he said that this was Kermit's coming out song

[@Hi_Im_Jeremy_Fishcer]

Egg

[@arthurvieira3508]

eu amei o final 😕💔

[@shooshatowers8059]

But is Kermit the antichrist?

[@shaakti72]

The Karen Carpenter version is so beautiful too.

[@bexthewitch87]

The Muppet Movie was my favourite movie as a kid and Rainbow Connection is my favorite song from them. Every time I hear the song I start to cry a little because I love it so much :3

[@kingofallthewildthings8977]

YOU DONT HAVE ENOUGH SUBSCRIBERS

[@GraceAndHumility]

Happy pride

[@sampeacaml9307]

Who is the female singer singing with you? She sings so well. :-)

[@DreamsoundsVideo]

The person singing with me is Athena Matsil from the band Awksymoron - they're non-binary as well and I highly recommend you check out their music, Athena is one of my fav songwriters: awksymoron.bandcamp.com/

[@Failed_Tenor]

That girl uses like to much

[@johanneshalberstadt3663]

You.cannot "empathize" with a song, because a song is no living being with experiences and emotions amd sentience and the capacity for suffering. The word is used wrong here. What is meant is to resonate with a song or relate to it or similar.

[@Yaple144000]

Unfortunately.... Like.... This was gonna be an interesting documentary.... like.... But it... Like.... Got derailed .....like.... By ... like that... Interview 😐

[@jimkahn957]

And now, we have people who want to ban this song. Sad. Absurd. As if the word 'rainbow' is something evil.

[@waynestorton1875]

How many times can a person punctuate their sentences with 'like' before it becomes annoying!? I had to switch off!!

[@srnunan4783]

Now in 2023 it sounds like an lgbt anthem since rainbows themselves have been stolen as a gay symbol, it also references the voices in the head calling the gay sailors to come out of the closet. How times change!

[@Nio744]

Not to be rude but like constantly talking but like having to say but like is like annoying but like whatever right I'll just wrong for saying that but like it is.

[@mr.smithgnrsmith7808]

The Rainbow is a sign of God’s promise, not a symbol of SIN

[@cammybaby01]

Way to take a beautiful sentiment and pull hate out of it