Over the Rainbow
(Yip Harburg, Harold Arlen)
1939
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I’ve 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 be-hind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops,
That’s where you’ll find me. Yeah.
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?
A poignant reading of a song that was initially left on the cutting room floor by the movie executives in charge of The Wizard of Oz. Harburg and Arlen essentially went in pounding on desks until the executives relented. Isn’t it amazing to think about that movie – or our lives – without this song?