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Five minutes into “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, fails to garner the sympathy of her aunt and uncle after an altercation between her dog and their unpleasant neighbor. Auntie Em tells Dorothy to “find yourself a place where you won’t get into any trouble.”
That trouble-free place, it turns out, was not on the dusty Kansas farm where she lived. It was over the proverbial rainbow. Garland then launched into what has become one of the most recognized and beloved songs ever written.
The 1939 Academy Award-winning “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is our reason to smile as we get ready to watch this year’s Oscars.
Twenty-five years ago this week, Garland’s rendition was voted Song of the Century in a poll conducted by the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. The ballad was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as well as the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” became Garland’s signature song. She continued to perform it for 30 years, just as she did for the film, saying she wanted it to remain true to Dorothy’s character and the song’s message. That message, imagining a better future in an uncertain world, still resonates. It can sometimes feel impossible, but I believe it is what will get us through.