Written for the movie The Wizard Of Oz, "Over The Rainbow" appears early in the film when Dorothy (played by Judy Garland) longs to escape her dreary life on the farm in Kansas. A deeper interpretation can have Dorothy longing for heaven.
The music was written by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg. They were asked to write the song because they had a number of previous hits, including "It's Only A Paper Moon," "
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime," and "Lydia The Tattooed Lady."
Arlen came up with the melody while sitting in his car in front of the original Schwab's Drug Store in Hollywood. Harburg hated it at first because he thought it was too slow. After Arlen consulted with Ira Gershwin, he sped up the tempo and Harburg came up with the words.
The original title was "Over The Rainbow Is Where I Want To Be."
A lot of effort went into the first line. Ideas that didn't make the cut included "I'll go over the rainbow" and "Someday over the rainbow."
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Some of the artists who recorded this include Glenn Miller, Bob Crosby, and Larry Clinton. During his 2001 world tour, Eric Clapton was known to play an acoustic blues version.
The lyrics have a political significance. Harburg was expressing hope for America under president Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" program, which was designed to get America out of the Great Depression in the early '30s.
"Over The Rainbow" was almost cut from the movie. Some executives from MGM thought the film was too long and wanted it removed. They thought it slowed down the action too early in the movie.
This won an Oscar in 1939 for Best Original Song. Garland was urged to sing it when she accepted the award. She did, but had a hard time getting through it because she was so excited.
The film was nominated for six Oscars, but had the misfortune of being released the same year as Gone With The Wind, which won Best Picture. The Wizard Of Oz won only for Best Song and Best Score, which was written by Herbert Stothart.
"Over The Rainbow" is a classic "I Want" song, sung by the main character early in a musical to establish her desires and motivation. We learn that Dorothy seeks adventure and wants to see what the world is like outside of Kansas. Disney movies are filled with these; a good example is "
I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from
The Lion King.
The movie was bought with the intentions of having Judy Garland play Dorothy, but executives considered switching it to Shirley Temple - a bigger box office draw - after Garland was already given the role. That plan was abandoned because Temple was under contract to 20th Century Fox, and because she would have had a hard time hitting the notes to the songs.
In a 2001 poll conducted by the Recording Industry Association Of America and the National Endowment for the Arts, "Over The Rainbow" was voted the #1 song of all time, beating out "
White Christmas," which came in at #2. The RIAA has it #1 on their list of the "Songs of the Century" because of its historical significance.
Judy Garland was just 16 when she recorded this song and 17 when The Wizard of Oz opened in theaters, but she was already a seasoned pro with six films to her credit and five singles. She was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s, and in 1954 starred in the original version of A Star Is Born, where she sang "The Man That Got Away," also co-written by Harold Arlen (with Ira Gershwin). "Over The Rainbow" remained her most popular song, and she sang it throughout her career.
Garland was given diet pills at a young age and became dependent on barbiturates and alcohol, which led to her death in 1969 at 47.
Tori Amos covers this at many of her concerts and did a version on her 1996 MTV Unplugged concert.
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Suggestion credit:
Kristy - La Porte City, IA
Liza Minnelli, who is Garland's daughter, sang some of this to Michael Jackson at his 2001 tribute special.
Harry Connick Jr. sang this at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Dorothy Hamill skated while he sang.
The Hawaiian ukulele musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole recorded "Over The Rainbow" in a medley with "
What A Wonderful World" for his 1993 album
Facing Forward. This version was used in the films
Finding Forrester,
Meet Joe Black, and
50 First Dates, as well as on the television show
ER. Kamakawiwo'ole, more often known as IZ, was obese, weighing about 750 pounds at one point; he died from respiratory illness connected with his weight. His coffin rests in the capital building in Honolulu, the only non-politician of only three people to be honored like this. The Hawaiian state flag flew at half mast on the day of his funeral and thousands of fans came to see his ashes scattered into the ocean.
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Suggestion credit:
Koz - Chelsea, MI and Evan - Newport Beach, CA
This song was used in an episode of the TV series
Scrubs, where it was performed by Ted's band "The Worthless Peons." The "Worthless Peons" are played by the real life band "The Blanks."
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Suggestion credit:
Bob - Fort Phanton Hill, TX
Surprisingly, Judy Garland's original version has never found its way to the singles chart. Two subsequent renditions of the song did make the Hot 100. Former American Idol finalist Katharine McPhee peaked at #12 with her interpretation of the song in 2006, and in 2012 The Voice contestant Nicholas David reached #96 after performing the song on the singing contest. Both versions went under the title of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
Pink performed this song at the Oscars in 2014 in tribute to Judy Garland, who was honored at the ceremony.
Some versions include the original introductory verse that was not included in the film:
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 windowpane
To a place behind the sun
Just a step beyond the rain
