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Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Performed by Judy Garland
c. 1939 Rhino Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing
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?
Do you have any dreams so amazing you are almost afraid to share them?
Where can you go and not get into trouble?
Share your thoughts on why this song has such universal appeal.
The song was originally written for the movie, The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland, eventually becoming her signature song. In 1939, the year of its release, it won the Academy Award for Best Song. It was also selected number one on 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”.
Besides Judy Garland and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole who has surged to the top of the charts with an updated lyrical ukulele version, this timeless song has been sung and arranged for and by every generation since, including arrangements by the Cast of Glee, Frank Sinatra, Eva Cassidy, Jason Castro and Katharine McPhee of American Idol fame, little Connie Talbot on Britain’s Got Talent, Jewel, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Rufus Wainright and Barbra Streisand to name a few.