The Nazis had not yet created the crematoriums and gas chambers they used to murder millions during the Holocaust. Harburg was almost prescient when he spoke of wanting to fly like a bluebird away from the “chimney tops.” In the post-Auschwitz era, chimney tops took on an entirely different meaning than they had at the beginning of 1939. Unfortunately, the Jews living in Europe could not fly, or escape beyond the rainbow. Try not to cry while you read the lyrics in their Jewish context and suddenly you’ll realize the words are no longer of wizards or the magical land of Oz, but is, in fact, of the survival of the Jewish people: Somehow they managed to write an unforgettable melody set to near prophetic words. The writing process can be trying, but the two men reached deep into their immigrant Jewish consciousness, framed by the pogroms of the past and the Holocaust about to happen. 1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. Together, Hochberg and Arluck wrote Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a song that has become a favorite of generations of children and adults alike. It was also voted the 20th century’s No. The music was written by Harold Arlen, also a cantor’s son. His real name was Isidore Hochberg, and he grew up in a Yiddish-speaking, Orthodox Jewish home in New York. The lyrics were written by Yip Harburg, who was the youngest of four children born to Russian-Jewish immigrants and the son of a cantor. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is perhaps the most poignant song to emerge out of the mass exodus from Europe prior to WWII and the growing Nazi regime.
#Over the rainbow lyrics movie#
While the setting in the movie is emotional as Dorothy realizes how important home truly is, there’s an even more moving story behind this iconic song.
Most of us grew up watching the Wizard of Oz and singing the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow with Dorothy.
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