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).
Buds Won't Bud
Judy Garland Lyrics
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One and one ain't even two
When the love you love won't love you.
Buds won't bud, chicks won't chick and micks won't mack,
Blue is white and white is black
When the love you love won't love back.
When you can't have the one you like,
All your troubles keep on mountin'
and the world is on a sit-down strike,
'Cause;
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and dew won't dew,
One and one ain't even two
When the love you love won't love you.
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and crows won't crow,
Eeny meeny's minus mo
When the love you love says, "Hi ho".
Buds won't bud, notes won't note and knots won't knot,
T's won't cross and I's won't dot
When the hope you hope goes to pot.
On account there's no accountin'
When you can't bring your dream about,
All your troubles keep on mountin'
And the world is just a big blackout,
'Cause;
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and dew won't dew,
C-O-D is I-O-U
When the love you love won't love you.
The lyrics of "Buds won't bud" by Judy Garland is an expression of loss and disappointment in love. The natural elements such as buds, breeze, and dew, which usually bring about hope and renewal, have lost their power in the face of unrequited love. The opening line of the song sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics, indicating a lack of growth, movement, and vitality that occurs when love is not reciprocated.
The lyrics describe a world turned upside down where "blue is white and white is black" and "one and one ain't even two." These phrases emphasize the confusion and disorientation that comes with unrequited love. The song acknowledges the pain and frustration that comes with unfulfilled love and the inability to control one's emotions. The phrase "On account there's no accountin'" captures the helplessness felt in the situation.
The chorus repeats the opening lines of the song but adds more absurdities such as "crows won't crow" and "notes won't note." The line "C-O-D is I-O-U" highlights the theme of debt and the sense of obligation that comes with love. The song culminates with the sentiment that when the love you love won't love you, the world can turn into a "big blackout."
Line by Line Meaning
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and dew won't dew,
The flowers won't bloom, the wind won't blow and the dew won't form,
One and one ain't even two
Even simple things don't add up or make sense anymore
When the love you love won't love you.
When the person you love doesn't love you back, everything in the world becomes meaningless and off-kilter.
Buds won't bud, chicks won't chick and micks won't mack,
The same as before but with different nouns for emphasis.
Blue is white and white is black
The world is completely turned upside down and nothing makes sense anymore.
When the love you love won't love back.
When love is unrequited, everything feels off-kilter and impossible to sort out.
On account there's no accountin'
There's no logical reason for what's happening, no explanation that makes any sense.
When you can't have the one you like,
When you can't be with the person you love, nothing else seems worth pursuing.
All your troubles keep on mountin'
Problems just keep piling up and adding to one another.
and the world is on a sit-down strike,
Nothing in the world seems to be cooperating or working the way it should.
'Cause;
The cause of all this is the unreturned love mentioned earlier.
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and dew won't dew,
Reiteration of the first stanza, as if to emphasize that this state of being is not going to change.
C-O-D is I-O-U
Things can get confusing and mixed up, even something as basic as financial transactions.
When the love you love won't love you.
Reiteration of the central problem: unrequited love.
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and crows won't crow,
Continuing the theme of a world that refuses to cooperate in even the most basic ways.
Eeny meeny's minus mo
Referencing an old children's game as a way of expressing that decision-making has become impossible or arbitrary.
When the love you love says, "Hi ho".
When the person you love greets you with indifference or even disdain, it makes everything in the world seem wrong and out of place.
Buds won't bud, notes won't note and knots won't knot,
Still more repetition of the idea that everything is topsy-turvy and nothing is going according to plan.
T's won't cross and I's won't dot
Even the most basic forms of communication become difficult and confusing, as if the world itself is conspiring against you.
When the hope you hope goes to pot.
When the things you've been wishing for and hoping for all start to fall apart or become impossible.
On account there's no accountin'
Again emphasizing the idea that there's no logical explanation for what's happening.
When you can't bring your dream about,
When your plans and aspirations all start to disintegrate or become impossible to achieve.
And the world is just a big blackout,
Things are so confusing and unpredictable that it feels like everything is plunging into darkness and chaos.
'Cause;
Reiterating that everything that's happening is a result of the central problem of unreturned love.
Buds won't bud, breeze won't breeze and dew won't dew,
Final repetition of the idea that everything feels out-of-whack and difficult in a world where love is unrequited.
When the love you love won't love you.
Closing line, emphasizing the central theme of the song: the pain and disorientation of unrequited love.
Lyrics © S.A. MUSIC, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: E.Y. YIP HARBURG, HAROLD ARLEN, TED KOEHLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind