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"Over the Rainbow" (mistakenly known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") is a popular song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and it became Judy Garland's signature song.
The song's plaintive melody and simple lyrics depict a pre-adolescent girl's desire to escape from the "hopeless jumble" of this world, from the sadness of raindrops to the bright new world "over the rainbow." It expresses the childlike faith that a door will magically be opened to a place where "troubles melt like lemon-drops".
The song is so popular that it tops the "Songs of the Century" list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. It also topped the American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Songs" list.
Along with Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", the song was adopted by the American troops in Europe in World War II as a symbol of the United States, the faraway land that, after long years of war, seemed like a dream beyond the rainbow. Modern listeners may be unaware that the song had an introductory stanza, as this was not sung in the film by Garland. However, there is one known recorded instance of her singing the full song with the introductory verse, on The Louella Parsons Radio Show in December 1948.
The song has come to epitomize the gesture of the rising octave, which makes its opening so distinctive. Sight-singing instructors and other musicians use the song as an example and a reference point for hearing the interval. The music is heavily inspired by the 'Song to the Moon' by Dvorak's opera Rusalka.[Wikipedia]
Ici, Interpretee par les "Celtic Women"
Somewhere over the rainbow
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?
The song's plaintive melody and simple lyrics depict a pre-adolescent girl's desire to escape from the "hopeless jumble" of this world, from the sadness of raindrops to the bright new world "over the rainbow." It expresses the childlike faith that a door will magically be opened to a place where "troubles melt like lemon-drops".
The song is so popular that it tops the "Songs of the Century" list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. It also topped the American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Songs" list.
Along with Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", the song was adopted by the American troops in Europe in World War II as a symbol of the United States, the faraway land that, after long years of war, seemed like a dream beyond the rainbow. Modern listeners may be unaware that the song had an introductory stanza, as this was not sung in the film by Garland. However, there is one known recorded instance of her singing the full song with the introductory verse, on The Louella Parsons Radio Show in December 1948.
The song has come to epitomize the gesture of the rising octave, which makes its opening so distinctive. Sight-singing instructors and other musicians use the song as an example and a reference point for hearing the interval. The music is heavily inspired by the 'Song to the Moon' by Dvorak's opera Rusalka.[Wikipedia]
Ici, Interpretee par les "Celtic Women"
Somewhere over the rainbow
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?