In a surprising grand return in 2021, 2017’s song I Hear a Symphony showed a new audience the beauty of Cody Fry’s genius in this simple yet complex three-minute magnum opus.

Being the disconnected individual that I am, I didn’t discover I Hear a Symphony through Tik Tok, but my girlfriend did, which led her to show me Cody’s entire album containing the song titled Flying. On a long car ride, we sat in silence simply soaking in the album.

And then came the last track, I Hear a Symphony.

Immediately, the melody had me hooked. It’s elegant, catchy, and very complex in its harmonial interpretation. The movement it implies from that first solo vocal line foreshadows the chromatic nature of the track, which is reeled back with an orchestra break before the second verse. The strings sing along with the vocals before having another break, this time bringing the song to what seems like the climax, but later listeners will find out is just a tease. In the most Disney fashion possible, Cody reintroduces the melody for a third time soaring out into the actual climax, which will give you goosebumps from head to toe. And then, in the most elegant way, Cody Fry sings out the same line that closed the first verse: “And now I hear a symphony,” alone with a piano. What an absolutely beautiful way to end the song.

To me, I Hear a Symphony had the same energy as songs like Bohemian Rhapsody. Though that track didn’t close out the album (I mean, let’s be real, A Night at the Opera ended with Bohemian Rhapsody, God Save the Queen was only a little epilogue to that masterpiece), Cody Fry’s opus truly ends the journey that is Flying. From 80s inspired power pop dance tunes, to ballads, to indie/electronic mellow songs, then to this. It combines some elements previously showcased, such as Cory’s love for that Disney/Broadway style, as well as his utilization of strings, which were drip fed from the very beginning of the album all the way into I Hear a Symphony. It’s a statement of Fry’s genius, pure and simple.

This is a song that I’m so glad got a second life through Tik Tok. I wasn’t aware of Fry’s music when this was released, and so I don’t know how well it did upon release, but I feel like the sudden hype and attention to not only this song but the entire album is absolutely justified. I Hear a Symphony is the true display of passion, love, musicianship, and orchestration all combined into one-hundred-and-eighty-five seconds. Songs twice its length have failed to achieve the grandiosity I Hear a Symphony did, and so I truly hope this song will be as immortalized in pop culture as it has been in my heart.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.