After appearing in Vaudeville theater with her sisters, Judy was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. There she made more than two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney, and the film with which she would be most identified, "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). After 15 years, Judy was released from the studio but gained renewed success through record-breaking concert appearances, including a critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall concert, a well-regarded but short-lived television series, and a return to film acting beginning with "A Star Is Born" (1954).
Despite her professional triumphs, Judy battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and overweight. Plied with drugs to control her weight and increase her productivity, Garland endured a decades-long struggle with addiction. Garland was plagued by financial instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, and her first four of five marriages ended in divorce. She attempted suicide on a number of occasions. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 47, leaving children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft.
Legacy
Judy Garland's legacy as a performer and a personality has endured long after her death. The American Film Institute named Garland eighth among the "Greatest Female Stars of All Time". She has been the subject of over two dozen biographies since her death, including the well-received "Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir" by her daughter, Lorna Luft. Luft's memoir was later adapted into the multiple award-winning television mini-series, "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows", which won Emmy Awards for two actresses portraying Garland (Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis).
Garland was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. These include "Over the Rainbow," which was ranked as the number one movie song of all time in the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Songs" list. Four more Garland songs are featured on the list: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (#76), "Get Happy" (#61), "The Trolley Song" (#26), and "The Man That Got Away" (#11).
Judy Garland has twice been honored on U.S. postage stamps, in 1989 (as Dorothy) and again in 2006 (as Vicki Lester from A Star Is Born).
As Long As He Needs Me
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the rain stops beating on my window pane
When the sun comes out
There'll be bluebirds 'round my door, singing like they did before
That old storm broke out
And my man went off and left me in the rain
Though he's gone I doubt
Love is funny
It's not always peaches, cream and honey
Just when everything looked bright and sunny
Suddenly the storm clouds came
I'll never be the same
'Til the sun comes out
And the rain stops beating on my window pane
If my heart holds out
Let it rain and let it pour
There'll be bluebirds 'round my door
Love is funny
It's not always peaches, cream and honey
Just when everything looked bright and sunny
Suddenly the storm clouds came
I'll never be the same
'Til the sun comes out
And the rain stops beating on my window pane
If my heart holds out
Let it rain and let it pour
It will not be long before
There's a knocking at my door
And you'll know the man love
Walked in when the sun comes out
Judy Garland's "As Long As He Needs Me" is a heart-wrenching ballad about a woman's unwavering devotion to the man she loves. The song paints a picture of a woman waiting for her lover to return to her, even after he has left her in the pouring rain. As she waits for his return, she longs for the sun to come out, hoping that it will bring with it a sign of his imminent return.
The opening lines of the song describe the woman's optimism, even in the midst of a storm. She believes that the sun will come out and that bluebirds will sing again. This symbolizes her hope that her lover will come back to her. But as the song progresses, her optimism fades, and she begins to doubt whether he will return. The lyrics "Though he's gone I doubt, If he'll stay away for good, I'd stop living if he would" highlights the depth of her longing for him.
The last verse of the song is the most poignant. The woman seems to have resigned herself to a life of waiting for her lover's return. She says that she will endure the rain and the storm, as long as she knows that he still needs her. She believes that someday soon, he will come back to her, and the sun will shine once more.
Overall, "As Long As He Needs Me" is a heartfelt song that captures the essence of true love – it endures even in the darkest of times.
Line by Line Meaning
When the sun comes out
When my life becomes good again
And the rain stops beating on my window pane
And I'm no longer struggling and in despair
When the sun comes out
When things start to look up for me
There'll be bluebirds 'round my door, singing like they did before
I'll feel happy and hopeful like I used to be
That old storm broke out
When things went really wrong
And my man went off and left me in the rain
My partner abandoned me in my time of need
Though he's gone I doubt
Despite his absence, I still believe he'll return
If he'll stay away for good, I'd stop living if he would
If he never returns, I couldn't go on living
Love is funny
Love is strange and unpredictable
It's not always peaches, cream and honey
It's not always easy and sweet
Just when everything looked bright and sunny
Just when things were going well
Suddenly the storm clouds came
Suddenly everything fell apart
I'll never be the same
Things will never be the way they were before
'Til the sun comes out
Until my life improves
If my heart holds out
If I can keep going and stay strong
Let it rain and let it pour
Let bad things keep happening
There'll be bluebirds 'round my door
I'll stay hopeful that good things will come
It will not be long before
It won't take too long
There's a knocking at my door
Someone will come back into my life
And you'll know the man love
And you'll know that the person I love
Walked in when the sun comes out
Returned when my life got better
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Lionel Bart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jonathankieranwriter
Raymond Farrish ...True indeed. But there was more going-on with her show than people today realize (or people who are interested in such matters.). Very complex cock-up by CBS.
Judy's weekly show was created to compete specifically with Bonanza, the popular Western serial, Sunday-night program that EVERYONE in America loved, and enjoyed watching after their rough work weeks in suburban, post-war USA. Understandable.
Judy's first TV show that was pitted against Bonanza blew the Bonanza out of the water. Beat them hard in ratings.
But that was because seeing Judy Garland on TV was an "event" and people gave-up their comfy Bonanza schedule to watch her.
But she wasn't a good weekly "battler" with Bonanza. Too completely different ideas and needs of American viewers.
Hear a legend pour her heart out in song every Sunday night ... or enjoy the root-em, toot-em fellas at the Ponderosa ranch.
Much easier on the working American psyche.
At best, what CBS should have done was put Judy's show on another night, and then maybe a few, select times a year pitted her show against Bonanza with extra-extra special concert shows (Sinatra, Dean Martin, maybe Elvis ... who wanted $70,000 to go on Judy's show. They refused.)
Or, her handlers should have secured for her a deal wherein she did maybe four "seasonal specials" a year. (Judy at Easter, Judy on the Fourth of July, Judy at Labor Day, Judy at Christmas.) Big production and big money for Judy. A million bucks for each show, and have them every year. It would have become an American fixture, I believe. Her "specials" crushed all the competition.
Her weekly program could have been a huge success with a little tweaking by CBS, on another night, but her real power was in special "event-type" programs.
Watching a powerful, intense personality like Judy Garland every Sunday night was too much for the casual viewer at the end of their work-week.
But the show could still have been easily turned into a ratings success on another night.
@Spiderman7Bob7
Again I repeat: No wonder Frank Sinatra said - "Every time Judy Garland sang she died a little".
@gildamarlowe5110
That's because Frank felt the emotion too. It's who can sing with emotion and feeling-not just "belting it out."
@valjayC
Wow very deep
@MIZHOG
i bet she did.
@Richie8a8y
It’s the number one comment on her efforts as posted here. The woman had a gift and it was exploited at every age of her too short life. I danced, it’s a different realm, but I get it. I identify with her gift and have reverence for her ability to “meet her match” year after year after year.
@patrickryan1515
And I bet he did too -- or at least often.
@bigjonisback
Streisand, Piaf, Bassey, Dion, Minelli sing for their audiences and we listen in awe. Garland comes and sits down besides you and holds your hand and sings for you alone. Her gift over all the others was the love she gave when she performed.
@joshuaalexander6296
Jonathan Mays very well said. Some of the greatest music ever was 50s-70s when these singers were at their peak.
@jonathankieranwriter
True, mostly.
But something serious needs to be clarified:
Liza Minnelli shouts. Judy Garland *sings*.
@MrHlcg1962
Jonathan Mays...finally! You have unlocked what separates Judy Garland from EVERY other singer. Thank you!