'Once Upon a December'
Song by Liz Callaway
from the album Anastasia: Music from the Motion Picture
Released	October 28, 1997
Recorded	1996–1997
Length	2:48
Label	Atlantic
Composer(s)	Stephen Flaherty
Lyricist(s)	Lynn Ahrens
Producer(s)	Lynn Ahrens, David Newman, Stephen Flaherty

'Once Upon a December' is a song from the 1997 Fox Animation Studios film Anastasia. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.^[1]

Deana Carter Once Upon A December Lyrics

Once Upon A December from the soundtrack Anastasia (1997). Deana Carter is a performance name for Deana Kay Carter. 50+ videos Play all Mix - Once Upon A December Lyrics by Deana Carter YouTube Once Upon A December - Deana Carter - Lyrics - Duration: 3:36. Jenny Zi 139,650 views.

The song and its lyrics are heard three times through the course of the story, twice as a lullaby, and once as a complete song with a bridge. The lullaby is heard first during the film's prologue (performed by Angela Lansbury as the Dowager Empress Marie, and Lacey Chabert as the young Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia) then as an a cappella version toward the end of the film when the Dowager Empress and the adult Anastasia are reunited (sung by Lansbury, and Liz Callaway as Anastasia). Callaway also sings the complete version (which does not include the lullaby lyrics) during the film's second act.

A pop version with vocals by country singer Deana Carter was also featured on the film's soundtrack and was released as a music video.

Production and synopsis[edit]

The melody of this song reprises a lullaby sung to Anya by her grandmother:

On the wind, 'cross the sea, sing this song and remember
Soon you'll be home with me, once upon a December

Once Upon A December Lyrics

The Dowager Empress commissions a music box that plays the lullaby as a gift for young Anya, to comfort her while her grandmother is away. The recurring melody serves as a narrative device in the film since Anya's memory of the lullaby, and the music box's necklace keys are her only ties to her forgotten past. The theme of memory is further enhanced by composer David Newman recurring use of the melody throughout the film's score, also incorporating variations of the song 'Journey to the Past'.^[1]

The full version of 'Once Upon a December' is sung by Anya after entering the now derelict Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. The repressed memories of her past are stirred by her unknowing return to her childhood home, triggering a musical dream sequence in which the palace is returned to its former glory, and she remembers singing the tune as a child with her grandmother.

Other languages[edit]

In the Flemish version of the movie, only young and adult Anastasia and Dimitri were dubbed in Flemish. For the rest of the characters, the Dutch dub was used.

Besides the official dubs, several TV dubs were made along the years (e.g. Albanian, Egyptian Arabic, Czech, Polish, Taiwanese Mandarin, Korean, Slovak, Vietnamese, and so on).^[2]

'Once Upon a December' in other languages
Language	Performer^[2]	Title	Translation
Arabic	Rasha Rizk	'أغنية عن شهر ديسمبر' ('Ughnya a’an shahri December')	'A song about the month of December'
Brazilian Portuguese	Juliana Franco	'Foi no mês de Dezembro'	'It was in December's month'
Bulgarian	Елена Павлова (Elena Pavlova)	'Някога през декември' ('Nyakoga prez dekemvri')	'Once upon a December'
Canadian French	Catherine Léveillé	'Un beau jour de Décembre'	'In a beautiful December day'
European French	Katia Markosy	'Loin du froid de Décembre'	'Far from the cold of December'
Cantonese	Unknown	'於那天再度記起' ('Jyu¹ naa⁵ tin¹ zoi³ dou⁶ gei³ hei²')	'Remember that day once again'
Castilian Spanish	Virginia Martínez	'Una vez en diciembre'	'Once in December'
Catalan	Virginia Martínez	'Molt aviat un Desembre'	'Very soon a December'
Czech	Alice Bardová	'Krásný příslib setkání'	Beautiful promise of meeting
Danish	Nicoline Møller	'For længe siden en vinter'	'One winter a long time ago'
Dutch	Vera Mann [nl]	'Dat december zal komen'	'That December will come'
European Portuguese	Lúcia Moniz	'Uma vez em Dezembro'	'Once upon a December'
Finnish	Petra Karjalainen [fi]	'Kerran joulukuun aikaan'	'Once in the time of December'
Flemish	Sanne Denotté	'Dat december zal komen'	'That December will come'
German	Jana Werner [de]	'Es war einmal im Dezember'	'It was once upon a December'
Greek	Μαντώ Σταματοπούλου (Mantó Stamatopoúlou)	'Κάπου, Κάποιον Χειμώνα' ('Kapoo, kapion khimona')	'Somewhere, some winter'
Hebrew	לימור שפירא (Limor Shapira)	'שוב כאז בדצמבר' ('Shuv k'az be’detzember')	'Again as then, in December'
Hungarian	Pápai Erika [hu]	'Volt egy régi december'	'There was an old December'
Icelandic	Svala Björgvinsdóttir	'Eitt sinn'	'Once'
Italian	Tosca	'Quando viene Dicembre'	'When December comes'
Japanese	鈴木ほのか (Suzuki Honoka) [ja]	'懐かしい歌を' ('Natsukashii uta wo')	'A nostalgic song'
Korean	이정화 (Lee Jeong-Hwa)	'그 어느 해의 겨울' ('Kŭ ŏnŭ hae-e kyŏul')	'That year's winter'
Latin American Spanish	Thalía	'Una vez en diciembre'	'Once in December'
Norwegian	Anita Skorgan	'En gang uti desember'	'Once in late December'
Polish	Katarzyna Skrzynecka	'Lecę w dal'	'I’m flying in the distance'
Russian	Masha Katz	'В зимний вечер когда-то' ('V zimniy vyecher kagda-ta')	'Once a winter night'
Swedish	Helen Sjöholm	'Längesen i december'	'Long ago in December'
Thai	จันทร์จิรา นิ่มพิทักษ์พงศ์ (Chanjira Nimpitakpong)	'ครั้งหนึ่งในฤดูเหมันต์' ('Krung nueng nai rue doo hay mun')	'Once upon a winter season'
Turkish	Tuğba Önal	'Aralıkta bir zamanlar'	'Once upon a time in December'

Critical reception[edit]

DVDReview describes it as 'the showstopper in the film'. LegendOfFlaura wrote 'The two fan favorites are Anya's songs, 'Journey to the Past' and 'Once Upon a December,' both of which rival any mezzo-soprano solo by Menken/Ashman.'^[3] FilmTracks argues both these songs' 'appeal as the 'leading lady's songs' are equally attractive. The site compared December favorably to Past, writing 'Once Upon a December that better tells the film's story. Appearing in short vocal reprises throughout the score, this song is the connecting element between Anya and her lost grandmother, and the Russian sensibilities of the waltz are far more interesting than the rather straightforward ballad'.^[1] DVDTa;l described the

Deana Carter Once Upon A December Lyrics