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Over the Rainbow

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"Over The Rainbow"
File:Judy Garland Over the Rainbow.jpg
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1939
GenrePop
Composer(s)Harold Arlen
Lyricist(s)E.Y. Harburg

"Over the Rainbow" (often referred to as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") is a classic ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in that movie. Over time it would become Garland's signature song.

In the film, part of the song is played by the MGM orchestra over the opening credits. About 20 minutes later, Garland, in the role of Dorothy Gale, sings Over the Rainbow after unsuccessfully trying to get her aunt and uncle to listen to her regarding an unpleasant incident involving Dorothy's dog Toto and the nasty spinster Miss Gulch, whom Toto bit after she struck him with a rake. Dorothy's Aunt Em tells her to "find a place where you won't get yourself into any trouble", prompting the girl to walk off by herself and sing the song.

Influence

The song is number one of the "Songs of the Century" list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The American Film Institute also ranked Over the Rainbow the greatest movie song of all time on the list of "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". It was adopted (along with Irving Berlin's "White Christmas") by American troops in Europe in World War II as a symbol of the United States.

In April 2005, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp recognizing lyricist Yip Harburg's accomplishments. The stamp pictures the opening lyric from Over the Rainbow.

The Wizard of Oz

The song was deleted from the film after a preview, because MGM chief executive Louis B. Mayer thought the song "slowed down the picture" and that "our star sings it in a barnyard". Harold Arlen, who was at the preview, and executive producer Arthur Freed lobbied successfully to get the song sequence reinstated.[1]

A reprise of the song was deleted after being filmed. An additional chorus was to be sung by Dorothy while she was locked in a room in the witch's castle, helplessly awaiting death as the witch's hourglass ran out. However, although the visual portion of that reprise is presumably lost, the soundtrack of it survives and was included in the 2-CD Deluxe Edition of the film's soundtrack, released by Rhino Entertainment. In that extremely intense rendition, Dorothy weeps her way through it, unable to finish, concluding with a tear-filled, "I'm frightened, Auntie Em; I'm frightened." This phrase was retained in the film and is followed immediately by Auntie Em's brief appearance in the witch's crystal, where she is soon replaced by the visage of the witch, mocking and taunting Dorothy before turning toward the camera to laugh.

Original Garland recordings

Judy Garland first pre-recorded the song on the MGM soundstages on October 7, 1938. A studio recording of the song, not from the actual film soundtrack, was recorded and released as a single by Decca Records in September 1939. In March 1940, that same recording was included on a Decca 78-RPM four-record studio cast album entitled "The Wizard of Oz". Although this is not the version of the song featured in the film, Decca would continue to re-release the so-called "Cast Album" well into the 1960s after it was reissued as a single-record 33 1/3 RPM LP. Garland always performed the song without altering it, singing exactly as she did for the movie. She explained her fidelity by saying that she was staying true to the character of Dorothy and to the message of really being somewhere over the rainbow.[2]

It was not until 1956, when MGM released the first true soundtrack album from the film, that the film version of the song was made available to the public. The 1956 Soundtrack release was timed to coincide with the television premiere of the movie.[3] The soundtrack version has been re-released several times over the years, including in a "Deluxe Edition" from Rhino Records in 1995.[4]

At the time of Garland's original release hers was initially not the most commonly played version in jukeboxes, where versions by dance bands such as Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller's predominated.[citation needed]

Lyrics

The verse was not used in the movie, nor was there ever any intention of using it; but it is often used in theatrical productions of The Wizard of Oz. Judy Garland herself sang the introductory verse once on the radio during the War.

The lyrics to the verse are as follows:

When all the world is a hopeless jumble
And the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane
When all the clouds darken up the skyway,
There's a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your window pane
To a place behind the sun,
Just a step beyond the rain

Deleted Portion

The second chorus is used occasionally in theatrical productions, but remains largely unknown. The only time the second chorus lyrics have been recorded, aside from Garland's original, was for The Wizard of Oz In Concert, where it was performed by singer/songwriter Jewel.[5] In 2009, Jewel recorded a studio version of the song including the new lyrics for her album, "Lullaby".

The short reprise, deleted from the final cut of the film, uses the melody of the bridge (or "B" section).

Someday I'll wake and rub my eyes
And in that land beyond the skies,
You'll find me
I'll be a laughing daffodil
And leave the silly cares that fill
My mind behind me

[6]

References

  1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/trivia
  2. ^ The Wizard of Oz (Decca label) - The Judy Room.
  3. ^ The Wizard of Oz (MGM label) - The Judy Room.
  4. ^ The Wizard of Oz (Rhino Movie Music label) - The Judy Room.
  5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNntXzI1EkU
  6. ^ http://www.preterhuman.net/texts/lyrics_and_music_related/unsorted_lyrics/over_the_rainbowjg.txt

See also

Awards
Preceded by Academy Award for Best Original Song
1939 		Succeeded by
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