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).
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a wickeder, wickeder, wickeder witch there never, never was
She filled the folks in Munchkin land with terror and with dread
'Till one fine day from Kansas way a cyclone caught a house
That brought the wicked, wicked witch her doom
As she was flying on her broom
For the house fell on her head and the coroner pronounced her dead
And thru the town the joyous news was spread
Ding-dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch
Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead
Wake up, you sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed
Wake up, the wicked witch is dead!
She's gone where the goblins go below, below, below, yo ho
Let's open up and sing, and ring the bells out
Ding-dong! the merry-o sing it high, sing it low
Let them know the wicked witch is dead
Ding-dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch
Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead
Wake up, you sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed
Wake up, the wicked witch is dead!
She's gone where the goblins go below, below, below, yo ho
Let's open up and sing, and ring the bells out
Ding-dong! the merry-o sing it high, sing it low
Let them know the wicked witch is dead
The song "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" is a triumphant celebration of the defeat of the wicked witch, who terrorized the inhabitants of Munchkin land with her evil ways. The lyrics tell of a cyclone that brought a house from Kansas to Munchkin land, which crushed the witch and caused her demise. The people of Munchkin land were filled with joy, and spread the news of her death through the town.
The joyful chorus of "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" is a call to action, encouraging everyone to wake up and celebrate the witch's defeat. The song paints an image of the witch's demise, as she is crushed by the house and sent to a place where even goblins fear to go. The chorus is an invitation to sing and ring the bells out, to let the world know that the wicked witch is dead.
Overall, the song serves as a cathartic release of emotions following the defeat of the witch. It provides a sense of closure to the people of Munchkin land, who were once terrorized by her evil deeds.
Line by Line Meaning
Once there was a wicked witch in the lovely land of Oz
In the beautiful land of Oz, there used to exist an evil witch
And a wickeder, wickeder, wickeder witch there never, never was
This witch was the most evil to ever exist, beyond measure
She filled the folks in Munchkin land with terror and with dread
Her actions instilled great fear and anxiety in the inhabitants of Munchkin land
'Till one fine day from Kansas way a cyclone caught a house
One day, a cyclone caught a house from Kansas
That brought the wicked, wicked witch her doom
This became the witch's downfall
As she was flying on her broom
At this time, the witch was travelling on her broom
For the house fell on her head and the coroner pronounced her dead
The house landed on her head causing death, confirmed by a coroner
And thru the town the joyous news was spread
The happy news spread throughout the town of the witch's demise
Ding-dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch
This is the good news that the song celebrates, marking the end of the wicked witch's reign
Wake up, you sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed
The song is waking people up from their slumber to join in the celebration
Wake up, the wicked witch is dead!
Further emphasizing the joyous news
She's gone where the goblins go below, below, below, yo ho
The song imagines that the witch has gone to a place where she can no longer cause harm
Let's open up and sing, and ring the bells out
The song calls for people to open up and celebrate endlessly
Ding-dong! the merry-o sing it high, sing it low
The song continues with the repeated chorus, encouraging everyone to sing and celebrate
Let them know the wicked witch is dead
The song encourages people to spread the news that the wicked witch is dead
Writer(s): E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Contributed by Luke E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@therebellioussheep2368
We're all here for Henry Kissinger. Don't deny it.
@4GNG
Can confirm
@vaya-dragon1998
Who was Henry Kissinger? I’ve never heard of him
@warlordofbritannia
@@vaya-dragon1998
The greatest war criminal in American history, a man who made Dick Cheney look like a mild-mannered accountant of death and carnage
@rapid_meme_god
@@vaya-dragon1998he played a key role in the carpet bombing of Cambodia, during the Vietnam war, which resulted in the death of over 100,000 civilians, allowing the dictator Pol Pot to unleash the Khmer Rouge regime
During the four years that was the Khmer rouge, over 2 million civilians were murdered
@oof3397
@@rapid_meme_godHe and Nixon also supported Pakistan in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. Meaning they supported the genocide of 3M bengalis by the pakistani army. Kissinger and Nixon also said some really degenerate and prejudiced things about Indians and Indira Gandhi.
@flowerfaerie8931
The Munchkins hated their leader so much the ENTIRE POPULATION apparently made a choreographed and orchestrated musical number for when she finally died. That’s some serious dedication.
@MaskedMan66
Dance numbers tend to happen in musicals; don't know if you knew that.
@borantandogan5524
that's what the brits did with maggie
@slivorywings2821
Too bad America can't do that the only time I've had to remember a president's name was in they were a test or I heard it because insert movie or tv show and for the moment pondered for a moment who that was.