With the film The Wizard of Oz having just recently celebrated its 82nd anniversary on August 25th, and the song Over the Rainbow taking on a much deeper meaning for me over the past month, I want to bring you all along with me on a magical journey. Together, we will explore the background of the song and its writers, and its universal impact on several generations.
Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg were tasked with writing the music and lyrics for Over the Rainbow. Both came from Jewish households and both had their own experiences with struggle and yearning for something better, a "rainbow world" as Harburg referenced once:
"We worked for in our songs a sort of better world, a rainbow world. Now, my generation unfortunately never succeeded in making that rainbow world, so we can’t hand it down to you. But we could hand down our songs, which still hang on to hope and laughter… in times of confusion."
The song's melody actually came to Arlen while on a drive with his wife on Sunset Boulevard. Harburg thought the melody seemed too big for the film. Still, he wrote up the lyrics and little did he and Arlen know, they would have to defend the song to MGM, as it was removed not once, not twice, but three times from the film! The song had felt too mature for the young heroine Dorothy to sing and they thought it would slow down the plot. Can you even imagine what the world would be like having never heard this song? Thank God for Judy Garland, as her performance and interpretation of Over the Rainbow helped to keep the song in the film. This amazing song ended up winning an Oscar, and in 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts voted it as the number one song of the 20th century.
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. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, There's a land that I 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 away above the chimney tops, That's where you'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds 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?
Over the Rainbow, music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, 1939
Let's dive into Judy's performance and what it evoked for others. The most prevalent theme of the song is escapism: to leave current circumstances and go somewhere with more opportunities, where those "dreams that you dare to dream" can come true. There's a sense of both longing and hope as Judy sings about her dreams for something better, and that is what makes the song so universally relatable to all generations so far since the film's release in 1939. Even with all the beautiful covers of this song over the past 80 years, Over the Rainbow will always be synonymous with Judy Garland and she recognized what it meant to others: "The song has become a part of my life. It is symbolic of everybody's dream and that's why people get tears in their eyes when they hear it. "
When I found out that my paternal grandmother was in the hospital in late July, the song that swept in immediately and would help me cope with her passing days later was Over the Rainbow. After all, she was the one and only Dorothy in my life. In recent years, I even gave her a Dorothy-themed birthday card and a plaque that says, "There's No Place Like Home." And I believe she truly lived that.
For the first time in my life, I discovered a much deeper meaning in Over the Rainbow: I believe it is about returning to our Heavenly Home, a place "behind the sun" and "beyond the rain," where "clouds are far behind" and "troubles melt like lemon drops." There's no pain, no struggles, just blue skies and birds flying free. I recorded this song recently in tribute to my Nana and I found it to be incredibly healing. It brought me closer to her and connected me to her spirit of positivity and resilience. She's since been showing me rainbows for several weeks now to remind me she is always near. This song has brought me immense comfort, so much more than when I watched The Wizard of Oz with joy-filled childlike wonder for the first time decades ago.
I watched the film a few weeks ago, and wept all the way through Judy's performance of Over the Rainbow, which has never happened before. I knew these emotions came from both the depth of my loss and the comfort that my Nana was now in a better place, reunited with my grandfather and her family.
I've realized that if we can have hope in our original true Home, this hope can also help us stay optimistic during these times of immense confusion. Perhaps our loved ones who have gone Home are not so far away after all. I believe they are the pillars of strength guiding us through the stormy rain. Then, they reveal a glorious rainbow for us, assuring us that we're going to be ok and that our dreams can still come true.
Filled with hope, we can continue to be beacons of joy to others. So my friends, keep on shining, and feel free to comment below if Over the Rainbow also holds a special meaning for you!