Somewhere Over the Rainbow
During the Coronavirus people are especially relating to this song.
We thought it might be interesting to look in a little more depth at this famous song which has regained its popularity recently.
It was believed to have been written in the context of the persecution of Jewish people, which as we know led to the holocaust. The song has overtones of hope for a better future and whilst that is a very big step away from today’s virus, we do all need the hope that this song brings that the bad times will one day be over.
It was first published in 1939, the words written by Yip Harburg and the music by Harold Arlen, both were Jews whose families had escaped persecution.
Most people think of Judy Garland when they hear this song and it is now being played all over the country, especially on Thursday evenings when we clap for key workers.

The younger generation will have heard a passage from it in the song "Defying Gravity" in the musical "Wicked". It is when they sing ‘Unlimited, my future is’ where you can just about hear ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’!
Strangely it was almost cut from the Wizard of Oz film because it was ‘too long and slow’! and even the writer himself was not sure about the music until Ira Gershwin (George Gershwin’s brother) liked it!
The ‘Wizard of Oz’ is taken from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and ‘Wicked’ is a musical by Stephen Schwartz created as a counterpoint to the Wicked Witch of the West.
This is Daniel playing a quick snippet of it in our kitchen as the music room is now home to table tennis which is our best form of exercise at the moment!
When you have meat or fruit covered with pastry and you want to find out how heavy it is where do you go?
Somewhere over the rainbow, "Weigh a pie"!
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