'The Impossible Dream' is, in my opinion, one of the greatest

The great actor Christopher Lee, whose voice carried the weight of legend and whose life spanned nearly a century of art and courage, once said: “‘The Impossible Dream’ is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songs ever written. Here is a man, an old man, a very old man full of daring, bravery, courage, determination, romanticism, and dreams.” In these words, Lee pays homage not only to a song, but to an ideal—the eternal flame of heroic aspiration that burns even as the body withers and time advances. He speaks of a man who dares to dream when reason tells him to yield, who continues to fight for beauty, justice, and meaning in a world that mocks such things. This, to Lee, was the highest nobility of the human spirit.

The origin of his admiration lies in the song “The Impossible Dream (The Quest)”, written by Joe Darion and Mitch Leigh for the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha, itself inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ immortal Don Quixote. In that tale, an aged knight, weathered and half-mad, sets forth to right the world’s wrongs, armed not with strength or youth, but with unyielding faith in goodness and love. He fights windmills he believes to be giants; he defends the honor of a lady who exists only in his imagination. To many, he is a fool—but to the wise, he is the purest embodiment of idealism. When Lee speaks of this “very old man full of daring,” he is describing Don Quixote himself, and, by extension, every soul who continues to believe when others have surrendered to cynicism.

The meaning of Lee’s words is vast and moving. He saw in “The Impossible Dream” not a mere song, but a hymn to perseverance—a testament to the indomitable will that defines the human condition. The “old man” of the song and story represents those who, though scarred and weary, refuse to bow before despair. His bravery is not born from power, but from purity of purpose. His romanticism is not naivety, but strength—the strength to imagine a world nobler than the one he sees, and to act as though it were real. Lee understood that this vision is what separates greatness from mediocrity: the capacity to dream beyond reason, to strive without hope of reward, and to find meaning in the struggle itself.

History, too, has known such men and women—those who have lived the impossible dream. Consider Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years in prison and emerged not with bitterness, but with faith in reconciliation. The world called him a fool for believing in peace between oppressor and oppressed; yet his dream reshaped a nation. Or Galileo Galilei, who defied the darkness of ignorance to reveal the truth of the stars, even as the world condemned him. Like Don Quixote, they were dreamers accused of madness, yet it was through their “madness” that humanity advanced. Their daring and determination fulfilled the spirit of that song: “to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear with unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go.”

Lee himself, in his long and storied life, embodied much of what he admired. He was a man who knew the face of war, who saw the cruelty of the world, yet never lost his romantic faith in courage and beauty. Even into his old age, he continued to create—to act, to sing, to inspire. His voice carried the conviction that dreams are not the property of the young, but the inheritance of all who dare to live deeply. In calling “The Impossible Dream” one of the greatest songs ever written, he was not praising its melody alone, but its message: that the spirit of heroism does not fade—it only deepens with time.

There is a lesson here for all who hear these words. In every life, there comes a moment when the dream seems impossible—when the weight of the world whispers that hope is folly and struggle is vain. It is in that moment that one must remember Don Quixote’s song, and Christopher Lee’s reverence for it. For happiness and meaning are not found in ease or success, but in the pursuit itself—in the refusal to abandon one’s ideals, even when the battle cannot be won. To dream is to live; to cease dreaming is to die before death.

Therefore, O seeker of wisdom, let this truth take root in your heart: never stop daring, even when the world calls you foolish. Hold fast to your courage, your romanticism, your determination. Dream your impossible dream, and live as though it might yet come true. For in that striving—against doubt, against despair, against the erosion of time—you will find not madness, but glory. And when your days grow old, may you, like the knight of La Mancha and the wise Christopher Lee, stand unbroken, your heart aflame with dreams that never surrendered to the world’s smallness.