"What Else Can I Do?" is a song that is featured in Disney's 2021 animated feature film Encanto. Influenced by rock-en-Espanol, it is sung by Mirabel and Isabela when Mirabel helps Isabela realize that she doesn't have to be "perfect" and that she can grow more than just flowers with her gift.
Lyrics[]
Isabela: I just made something unexpected
Something sharp,
Something new.
It's not symmetrical or perfect,
But it's beautiful
And it's mine.
What else can I do?
Mirabel: Bring it in, bring it in!
Isabela: What else can I do?
Mirabel: Good talk! Bring it in, bring it in!
Let's walk! Bring it in, bring it in! Free hugs! Bring it in, bring it in!
Isabela: I grow rows, and rows of roses.
Flor de mayo, by the mile.
I make perfect, practiced poses
So much hides behind my smile
Isabela: What could I do if I just grew what I was feeling in the moment?
(Mirabel: Do you know where you're going?! Whoa!)
What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect?
It just needed to be, And they let me be!
A hurricane of jacarandas
Strangling figs (Mirabel: Big!)
Hanging vines (Mirabel: This is fine!)
Palma de cera fills the air as I climb,
And I push through
What else can I do?
Can I deliver us a river of sundew?
Careful, it's carnivorous, a little just won't do
I wanna feel the shiver of something new
I'm so sick of pretty, I want something true, don't you?
Mirabel: You just seem like your life's been a dream
Since the moment you opened your eyes
All I know are the blossoms you grow,
But it's awesome to see how you rise!
Isabela: Whoa-oh-oh! How far do these roots fall down? Whoa!
Mirabel: How far can you rise?
Isabela: How far can I rise?
Both: Through the roof, to the skies,
Let's go!
Isabela: A hurricane of jacarandas
Strangling figs
Hanging vines
Mirabel: Whoo! Go! Grow!
Isabela: Palma de cera fills the air as I climb
And I push through
Mirabel: What else, what else?
Both: What can you do when you are deeply, madly, truly in the moment?
(Mirabel: Seize the moment, keep goin'!)
Both: What can you do when you know who you wanna be is imperfect?
Isabela: But I'll still be okay
Mirabel: Hey, everybody clear the way Whoo!
Isabela: I'm coming through with tabebuia Making waves
Changing minds
The way is clearer 'cause you're here, and well
Mirabel: She's coming through with that boo-yah! Making waves! You've changed mine!
Isabela: …I owe this all to you
What else can I do?
(Mirabel: Show 'em what you can do)
What else can I do?
(Mirabel: There's nothing you can't do)
Isabela: What else can I do?
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- During the song, there's a leitmotif from Isabela's part in "We Don't Talk About Bruno".
- This song is inspired by 90's Colombian music as confirmed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
- Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda has recounted that, during the creation of this song, he contacted his next-door neighbor, Fabian, who was a botanist for the NY Botanical Gardens. Miranda "called him in a panic, saying, "I need to know everything about Colombian plants, & other exotic weird plants you can give me". An hour later, Fabian had provided him a list of Colombian plant species and few facts about them.[1]
- After the song, Mirabel and Alma were arguing about the miracle dying. Though, it is the second time in Disney animated film since after Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King, as Simba and Nala did argue, when she wanted him to come back to Pride Rock to become king.
References[]
- ↑ Miranda, Lin-Manuel (January 30, 2022). "Lin-Manuel Miranda on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved on April 10, 2022.
External links[]
What Else Can I Do? on the Encanto Wiki
