Original artwork, not a still
The Voice
If you build it, he will come.
— Field of Dreams · 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is a promise and a dare at once: do the strange, unreasonable thing and the thing you are hoping for will arrive. The film turns out to be about Ray and his late father, so the 'he' is not who the voice first seems to mean. It has become the standard line for any ambitious plan built on faith, and it is nearly always quoted wrongly as 'if you build it, they will come'.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Field of DreamsShow the scene
In Field of Dreams (1989, written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson), Iowa corn farmer Ray Kinsella is walking his rows one evening when a whispered voice tells him the line. He then sees a vision of a baseball diamond with the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson on it. Ray ploughs up part of his corn to build the field, and the film's other messages, to ease his pain and to go the distance, follow. The Voice is never named on screen: the novelist W. P. Kinsella said he was told it was Ed Harris, though nothing has confirmed that. The same words return at the very end, when Joe repeats them to Ray.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Field of DreamsPlot and Cast sectionsReference checked
- Wikiquote: Field of DreamsThe Voice and Dialogue sectionsReference checked
Context reviewed
