Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a
lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a
star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind
me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the
rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the
rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
You
know what lyrics those are right? The main song from one of your favorite kiddy
movies, Wizard of Oz. Yeah, it’s the famous all time song,“Somewhere Over The Rainbow”! And today, we’re gonna dig in to the
core of this song, and we’re gonna talk about what this song is about. Check it
out!
Okay,
the first time I knew about this song is… to tell the truth, I don’t know when!
My mom kept on playing this song again and again since I was a baby. So the
melody kinda stick into my head, keeps on repeating before I even know it.
Years later I knew that the song came with a film titled Wizard of Oz.
Aaand
so months ago I did some research on the internet about the film because my
class was gonna perform a mini theatre. Mine was playing Wizard of Oz. And for
your information, I played the part of the Wicked Witch of The West. Yeah, the
green one. But I created the whole costume so I didn’t have to look like a
witch wearing frog skin. Maybe I’ll talk about this drama on some other posts.
Based
on my research, Over the Rainbow" (often referred to as "Somewhere
over the Rainbow") is a ballad, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by
E.Y. Harburg. This song was sung by Judy Garland in 1939, the actress of Wizard
of Oz itself. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became
Garland's signature song, as well as one of the most enduring standards of the
20th century.
Judy
Garland played the role of Dorothy Gale, the main character of this story. She
was a countryside orphan girl travelling aaall the way to the emerald city with
her little black dog, called Toto after a big Tornado crushed her farm house.
She found herself some friends on the way there. She wanted to come back to her
home, in Kansas, where her uncle and aunty live. But in the middle of the way,
she had to fight with a wicked witch who tried to steal back the witch’s
sister’s red shoes from Dorothy. She got some help from the fairy and the
wizard to come back home safely. But actually all those long adventure was only
just a dream!
Wikipedia
said: “About five minutes into the film,
Dorothy sings the song after failing to get her aunt and uncle to listen to her
relate an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto, and the town spinster,
Miss Gulch. Dorothy's Aunt Em tells her to "find yourself a place where
you won't get into any trouble." This prompts Dorothy to walk off by
herself, musing to Toto, "'Some place where there isn't any trouble.' Do
you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you
can get to by a boat, or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond
the rain..." at which point she begins singing.”
“Following the film's
release in 1939, "Over the Rainbow" became Garland's signature song
and she would perform it for the next thirty years, until her death in 1969.
Garland 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.”
Judy
Garland herself wrote this in a letter to Harold Arlen : “Over the Rainbow' has become part of my life. It's so symbolic of
everybody's dreams and wishes that I'm sure that's why some people get tears in
their eyes when they hear it. I've sung it thousands of times and it's still
the song that's closest to my heart.”
Do
you wonder why the song sticks to our heads and hearts? The song makes us go to
a magical musical place over the rainbow. Dorothy's song is the first
fortuitous sign we get as the movie is getting started that says: "Hey — this person is going somewhere
unimaginable that will change her in wonderful ways."
Maybe
that's why we all love it. We all want that for ourselves, too. Maybe this
saying had said it well enough:
"Words make you think thoughts, music makes you feel a feeling, but
a song makes you feel a thought."
Rob
Kapilow, a composer and explainer of deep musical secrets said: "She would have been home, but she
would never have gone to Oz. In a beautiful moment — and this is a fantastic
moment — Arlen decides to bring back the middle of the song, but in the
orchestra. There's a beautiful quote from Yip Harburg, who wrote the words. He
said, 'Words make you think thoughts,
music makes you feel a feeling, but a song makes you feel a thought.' And
you can feel her thinking. Just the orchestra. Then she comes back, just like
in the B section, 'If happy little blue birds fly.'" Judy Garland
(singing): "If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh,
why can't I?" Kapilow: "One last rise. 'Why, oh, why,' and where does
she finally get to? Oz. From low C to high C, from Kansas to Oz, from reality
to fantasy, and her transformation is complete."
And
as for me, I think this song is a picture of her going to a new place that’s
fun and games. She’s wondering about if she could go to another place way nicer
than Kansas, where she could find a beautiful land and blue skies over the
rainbow. And that is Oz. She wanted it because she wasn’t getting any attention
from her family. She wants all the troubles that she met, or all the mistakes
that she made turned and melted into lemon drops. Then it all became true even
it just happened in her own dream. And when she sang the last part of the song,
that’s “If happy little bluebirds fly
beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can't I?” can be translated into the way
that she wanted to fly high and free in the sky like some happy little bluebirds
so that she could feel the heaviness on her shoulder being lifted.
Woah,
they were some deep explanation of the meanings in the song, right? Then what
about you? What do you think the meaning of this song that many people like
this song?
Watch the music video of the original song of Over the Rainbow!
Read
more: Judy Garland - Somewhere Over The Rainbow Lyrics | MetroLyrics
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