How Does a Moment Last Forever

"How Does a Moment Last Forever" is a song written by lyricist Tim Rice and composer Alan Menken for the Disney live action film Beauty and the Beast, a remake of the 1991 animated musical of the same name. This Broadway-inspired ballad is performed in the movie by American actor Kevin Kline in his role as Maurice. It describes the relationship between his character and that of his wife, Belle's deceased mother. Later in the film, Belle (Emma Watson) performs the song as she discovers the truth about her mother's fate. "How Does a Moment Last Forever" was also recorded by Canadian pop singer Celine Dion, whose version was also included in the film's soundtrack, released on March 10, 2017. Her version plays over the film's end credits.

In 2021, Selena Gomez, who plays Buster's wife, Melody, covered on the soundtrack to the film Sing 2. It was recorded by R&B singer Stevie Wonder in the end credits. Gomez's version was played in the film, while Wonder's version is played in the closing credits.

Lyrics

 * How does a moment last forever?
 * How can a story never die?
 * It is love we must hold onto
 * Never easy, but we try


 * Sometimes our happiness is captured
 * Somehow, our time and place stand still
 * Love lives on inside our hearts and always will


 * Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone
 * But when all else has been forgotten
 * Still our song lives on


 * Maybe some moments weren't so perfect
 * Maybe some memories not so sweet
 * But we have to know some bad times
 * Or our lives are incomplete


 * Then when the shadows overtake us
 * Just when we feel all hope is gone
 * We'll hear our song and know once more
 * Our love lives on


 * How does a moment last forever?
 * How does our happiness endure?
 * Through the darkest of our troubles
 * Love is beauty, love is pure


 * Love pays no mind to desolation
 * It flows like a river through the soul
 * Protects, proceeds, and perseveres
 * And makes us whole


 * Minutes turn to hour, days to years then gone
 * But when all else has been forgotten
 * Still our song lives on


 * How does a moment last forever:
 * When our song lives on