"Deliver Us" is a song from the 1998 DreamWorks film The Prince of Egypt. This is the film's opening number, and runs for 7:15 minutes.
Production
explained his use of the word "Elohim" in the song: The lullaby sung by Yocheved, Moses' mother, was performed by Ofra Haza. This was sung by Haza in 18 out of the 21 languages the song was translated into. Eden Riegel is also a featured artist, while the music was composed by Hans Zimmer. Christopher Coleman explained "'Deliver Us' features the powerful vocals I was hoping for combined with the enchanting voice of the Israeli singer, Ofra Haza. This track concludes with an abruptness which is very similar to the opening track of Zimmer’s Oscar-winning score for The Lion King."
Synopsis
Fragments explained "The opening number, 'Deliver Us,' serves as exposition while setting up the story for us by showing the struggle of the Hebrew slaves as they sing." Chuck Schwartz of Cranky Critic notes:
the visuals do not hold back on depicting the violence inherent in the slave system that kept the Hebrews in bondage and built such nice pyramids and such. The act of setting the baby Moses adriftin a basket is tinged with dangers never even hinted at in Bible stories. The whole sequence builds in direct correlation to the template laid down in The Lion King.
"Deliver Us", which opens the film and introduces us to the plight of the Jews, and "Through Heaven's Eyes", which plays over the montage of Moses's life in the desert—do their job well, setting the tone and keeping the story going.
Dark Horizons wrote, "With the exception of the 'Deliver Us' opening song, the five other numbers are not only completely forgettable but wreck the tone of the film, they could've done a lot better without them." TTB dubbed it "an amazing opening song," writing, "the lyrics of that song are perfect in establishing the story". Aint It Cool wrote, "this amazingly dramatic track switches between a chanting male chorus from the slaves, and hardcore drum-laden orchestral score from Zimmer. Halfway through it cuts into Yocheved and young Miriam's wonderfully beautiful 'River o River' theme, before exploding back into the male slave chorus. Awesome, awesome stuff. Every cue is really spot on—your imagination will wild thinking of the animation that must accompany this!" Antagony and Ecstasy described "Deliver Us" as a "mini-opera" and wrote the following on the song:
