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).
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
He has sounded for the trumpet that shall never call retreat
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat
Oh, be swift, my soul to answer Him, be jubilant, my feet
Our God is marching on
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
His truth is marching on
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me
As He died to make men holy let us die to make men free
While God is marching on
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
His truth is marching on
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
His truth is marching on
Amen
The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a patriotic and religious song that speaks about the glory of God and the judgment day. The song begins with a description of God coming in glory, trampling the grapes of wrath and wielding his terrible swift sword, ready to judge humanity. His truth, or message, is marching on, as the singer declares glory, hallelujah.
The second verse speaks about the trumpet sounding and God sifting out the hearts of men, preparing for judgment day. The singer calls on their soul to answer God and their feet to be jubilant, as they prepare to face the divine. The chorus repeats the glory, hallelujah refrain, emphasizing God's truth marching on.
The third and final verse speaks about the birth of Jesus, his glory and his sacrifice to make men holy. The singer calls for people to die to make men free, following the example of Jesus, while God continues to march on with his truth. The song concludes with a resounding amen.
Line by Line Meaning
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
I have witnessed the powerful and awe-inspiring presence of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
He is crushing and destroying the wickedness and injustice that has been building up for too long
He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword
He has unleashed His swift and just punishment upon the unrepentant sinners
His truth is marching on
His righteous and eternal message continues to spread and triumph over all falsehood and darkness
He has sounded for the trumpet that shall never call retreat
He has called upon His followers to fight for righteousness and they will never back down
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat
He is examining the innermost thoughts and intentions of every person before His ultimate judgment
Oh, be swift, my soul to answer Him, be jubilant, my feet
I implore my soul to respond quickly and joyfully to His divine call
Our God is marching on
Our Almighty God is steadily progressing towards His holy purpose
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea
In a serene and picturesque setting, Christ was miraculously born far away
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me
With marvelous power and great love, He transforms us to a higher state
As He died to make men holy let us die to make men free
Just as He sacrificially died to purify humanity, let us also be willing to die for the noble cause of liberating others
Glory, glory, Hallelujah
Praise and honor to the Lord!
Amen
So be it.
Lyrics © HAL LEONARD LLC, Tratore
Written by: HOWE, STEFFE, KIRBY SHAW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rob Sieger
I don't know about clumsy.
If you listen she did mess up the line "Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!", coming up with something similar. But it does not impact the rest of the song.
Also, "He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat" somehow sounded like "He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never air [e'er?] retreat".
Also, the following stanzas are somehow unaccountably missing (were they deleted by studio before show aired on 2 January 1964?):
"I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps,
His day is marching on. I have read His fiery gospel writ in rows of burnished steel!
As ye deal with my condemners, so with you My grace shall deal!
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."
Micky Finn
The way she enunciates the lyrics of the first verse - "He has LOOSED the fateful lightning of his TERRIBLE swift sword", she invests those words with such meaning and emotion, while staying within the rhythm, no Shakespearean actor could have done better. Truly, there was nothing she could not do.
denise marie
so true
Stacy Hamilton
Chastity. Sobriety. 11th grade Geometry. There were a few things she couldn't do. Thanks, Hollywood.
John Dalton
Stunning. Almost at the half-way point, she seems distraught- you wonder if she'll even get through the song. Then, a quieter moment of reflection. Then, she overcomes. A triumphant final verse and chorus. I'm sitting here a wreck. I was not alive when Kennedy was shot in 1963, but after seeing this I have a very good understanding of what Americans were going through that terrible holiday season. Rest in Peace, Judy.
John Dalton
Technical question: you see a boom mic in the shot at one point. Yet, she's using a handheld. Why would that be?
AwesomeVille
Why doesn't this have a trillion views? Such a stirring performance. Brings a man to tears over 50 years later...
Garyb3397
It doesn't have a trillion views because fine art will never be for the masses. But Madonna will. What American taste has fallen to.
Rob Sieger
@Garyb3397 Even worse than Madonna. The crap that passes for music now ...
Lindsey Sanders
Rob Sieger I respect Madonna, but compared to acts today, she is a reigning legend. Most young kids I know have never heard of this before, or of Judy Garland for that matter.
Lindsey Sanders
Dark Hollywood Dark Hollywood My niece and nephews have never even seen the Wizard of Oz. 😳🙄