One of the most iconic moments in that most iconic of films was Judy Garland’s rendition of the song “Over the Rainbow,” a ballad that resonated with Depression-era audiences for its expression of Dorothy Gale’s yearning wish to be somewhere better, somewhere other than the current bleak landscape.
Yet the winner of that honor, according to a 2018 study, is the beloved 1939 MGM musical The Wizard of Oz.
Somewhere over the rainbow movie#
Fans of Casablanca would likely point out that it is probably the most-referenced movie of all time. Many cinema buffs would argue that elements of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane can be found in virtually every film that followed it. Harburg was almost prescient when he talked about wanting to fly like a bluebird away from the “chimney tops.” In the post-Auschwitz era, chimney tops have taken on a whole different meaning than the one they had at the beginning of 1939.Which single movie has had the greatest influence, in both artistic and economic terms, on the film industry? Anyone born in the last half century or so might venture that the ongoing massive appeal of the Star Wars universe means that film should claim the crown. They could not escape beyond the rainbow. Why then, oh why can’t I? If happy little bluebirds fly Beyond the rainbow Why, oh why can’t I? Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly. Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That’s where you’ll find me. Someday I’ll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true. Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, There’s a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby. Read the lyrics in their Jewish context and suddenly the words are no longer about wizards and Oz, but about Jewish survival: In writing it, the two men reached deep into their immigrant Jewish consciousness – framed by the pogroms of the past – and wrote an unforgettable melody set to near prophetic words. Together, Hochberg and Arluck wrote “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which was voted the 20th century’s number one song by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). His real name was Hyman Arluck and his parents were from Lithuania. The music was written by Harold Arlen, a cantor’s son.
His real name was Isidore Hochberg and he grew up in a Yiddish speaking, Orthodox Jewish home in New York. He was the youngest of four children born to Russian Jewish immigrants.
For example, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was written by Johnny Marks and “White Christmas” was penned by a Jewish liturgical singer’s (cantor) son, Irving Berlin.īut perhaps the most poignant song emerging out of the mass exodus from Europe was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The lyrics were written by Yip Harburg. It is no accident, for example, that the greatest secular Christmas songs of all time were written by Jews. During the 2014 Oscars, they celebrated the 75th anniversary of the release of the “Wizard of Oz” by having Pink sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”īut what few people realized, while listening to that incredible performer singing that unforgettable song, is that the music is deeply embedded in the Jewish experience.
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