Over the Rainbow

"Over the Rainbow", music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, is one of the most famous songs of the late 1930s.

Many feel the song epitomizes the hopes and dreams of youthful aspiration for an ideal world of love and joy. The song was especially written to showcase Judy Garland's talents in the star vehicle The Wizard of Oz, and she was forever after called upon to sing it in all her public appearances, for it became her lifelong theme song.

Its plaintive melody and simple lyrics depict a pre-adolescent girl's desire for an 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 "Heaven" will magically "open a door" to a place where "troubles melt like lemon-drops".

However, with the rise of rainbow imagery linked to the gay community in the 1970s the song also lends itself to a more nuanced interpretation. The rainbow flag is often used as a symbol of gay pride, and the lyrics speak of a better life to come on the other side of that rainbow. As Garland is a well known gay icon, this interpretation is quite fitting.

The song 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.

The American troops in Europe in WWII adopted the song, as well as Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", as a symbol of the US, that 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.

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 Wizard of Oz

The time-honored story is that this classic song was nearly cut from the film. The theory was that the song slowed the pace of the film. It is certainly true that most of the music in the film is medium-to-high energy, in contrast to this gently paced melody. Given the frequent instrumental references to the song throughout the film, including its title sequences, any such consideration was apparently short-lived.

However, part of the song was cut from the film. There was to have been an additional verse, when Dorothy was locked in a room in the witch's castle, helplessly awaiting death once the witch's hourglass ran out. A rehearsal recording of the song survives and was included in the Deluxe CD set. In that rendition, Dorothy weeps her way through it, unable to finish, concluding with a tear-filled, "I'm frightened, Auntie Em; I'm frightened!"

That phrase was retained in the film, followed immediately by Auntie Em's appearance in the witch's crystal, and then replaced by the image of the witch, mocking and taunting Dorothy and then turning toward the camera and laughing hideously, directly at the audience.

Garland's tearful rendition of this extra verse was reportedly deemed so heart-wrenching that it was decided to exclude it from the film, in order to spare the young audience from its powerful emotions, especially given the startling scene that immediately followed it.

Modern-day recordings of the song

Sam Harris performed a winning rendition on the first season of the original Star Search. Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Eric Clapton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kylie Minogue, Rufus Wainwright, and Garland's daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft have sung the song in concert. One of the most unusual versions was recorded by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole whose medley of "Rainbow" and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" was featured on the soundtrack of the films Meet Joe Black, Finding Forrester, and 50 First Dates. James Stewart memorably warbled a rendition while carrying a "drunk" Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story. Even horror legend Vincent Price did a version in the film Dr. Phibes Rises Again, though it was originally sung at the end of the United Kingdom version of the film's prequel, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, even though both films take place before the song was even written. Elisabeth Andreassen also recorded the song.

British television comedian Kenny Everett sometimes used the song in comedy segments that included the unique sound of a British police car siren and Everett singing the lyrics, "Behind me!" and "That's where you'll find me!"

The cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song for their 1999 album Are a Drag, and in the animated series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Grey Delisle sang it as her character, Mandy. Guitarist Joe Satriani occasionally covers the song at his concerts. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would perform a few bars of the verse at the beginning of his concerts, when he Rocked the world with his band of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, in those years from 1975 to 1983.

In Stephen Schwartz's musical Wicked, a loose adaptation of Gregory Maguire's Oz novel of the same name, a variation of the tune is used as one of the leitmotifs attached to the main character, Elphaba. The lyrics of "Un-li-mi-ted, my fu-ture -" is arranged to the same intervals (though not the same rhythm) as "Some-where o-ver the rain-bow'. As Elphaba later becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and because Dorothy and she are literary foils, the tune acquires an ironic subtext. (It also may be noted that by restricting the piece to seven notes, Schwartz avoids copyright issues with his use of the music.

"Over The Rainbow" is featured as a Dance Dance Revolution song, available on the 7th mix in the CD line.

The Smashing Pumpkins would often include "Over The Rainbow" in the live/jam version of "Silverfuck". This is present on the live concert album Earphoria but on the DVD Vieuphoria it is edited out, because they did not have the rights to the song. "Rainbow" can also be found on Ray Charles's final album, Genius Loves Company, as a duet with Johnny Mathis.

Jane Monheit, recorded a version of "Over The Rainbow" from her sophomore album Come Dream With Me.

Monheit later re-recorded a shorter version of the song (minus this intro) for the soundtrack to the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow starring Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The song has produced memorable moments on American Idol. The third-place finisher on Season 2, Kimberley Locke, performed it at her initial audition and in the final three. She included it on the Season 2 compilation CD. Locke's version is highly embellished with vocal improvisations, but was widely respected by the judges and audience.

In Season 5, Katharine McPhee performed the song in the final three show on May 16, 2006. Judge Simon Cowell chose the song for her. McPhee performed sitting on the stage and wearing red shoes. She sang the little-known opening verse a capella leading ito a version that was more subdued than Locke's. The judges had high praise for McPhee's performance, and it is believed that the song was responsible for vaulting her into the season's final two. Several critics, including Cowell, consider McPhee's performance to be the best of the entire series. McPhee reprised her performance of the song in the final performance show on May 23. Her version again received rave reviews. It was included as a double A-side on her single, "Over the Rainbow/My Destiny," which was released on June 27, 2006.

Chinese Pop singer Angela Chang named her debut album "Over the Rainbow," after this song. She said this is the song her mother used to teach her to sing^{[citation needed]}.

Hundreds of singers have recorded and/or sung their own versions of "Over the Rainbow", including:

External links

"Over The Rainbow" lyrics at Warner Brothers website