To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow,
To run where the brave dare not go.

To right the unrightable wrong,
To love pure and chaste from afar,
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star.

This is my quest, to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,
To fight for the right, without question or pause,
To be willing to march into Hell for a Heavenly cause.

And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest,
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest.

And the world will be better for this,
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable star.

Lyrics by Joe Darion; music by Mitch Leigh

Copyright Helena Music Company, Andrew Scott Music

My Take:

The lyrics to “The Impossible Dream,” from the musical Man of La Mancha, speak for themselves.  Don Quixote’s message is straightforward:  Be brave, be bold, be daring, be pure — and the world will be a better place for your having been here.  More simply:  Go for it!

And who could possibly be a better choice to sing about achieving the impossible dream than Ronan Tynan, a man who has achieved it — on several levels.  Tynan was born with deformed legs, which caused him to suffer from severe scoliosis.  It got so bad that at age twenty he made the decision to have both of his legs amputated below the knees and wear prosthetic lower limbs.  That could have been the end of the impossible dream for him, but, instead, it was the beginning.

He first set his sights on athletics, and went into serious training, winning eighteen gold medals and setting fourteen world records competing in events for the disabled.  These feats alone would have made for an incredible inspiration story, but Tynan was just getting started.

He then made the decision to become a medical doctor, and enrolled at Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland.  At thirty-two, he began practicing medicine, which one would have thought would have put an exclamation point on his successful quest for the impossible dream.  Not even close.

Having discovered that he had a gifted tenor voice, Tynan, in his spare time, began singing in pubs.  In 1994, he entered a television talent show in Ireland — and won!  He soon gave up the practice of medicine and became a world-famous stage performer.

Still, Ronan’s trials and triumphs had not all been written.  As a result of a sinus-drainage problem caused by the return of a childhood injury he had suffered, he suddenly lost his voice and, reluctantly, returned to the practice of medicine.  But, after a long period of recuperation following surgery to correct the problem, he slowly regained his magnificent voice and continued his relentless reach for the unreachable star.

When you listen to Ronan Tynan sing “The Impossible Dream,” know this:  You are listening to a real-life version of Don Quixote.