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).
Do I Love You?
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When for the first time I saw you appear,
Dreaming of you I composed a tune,
So will you listen to it, dear?
Do I love you, do I?
Doesn't one and one make two?
Do I love you, do I?
Would I miss you, would I?
If you ever should go away?
If the sun should desert the day,
What would life be?
Will I leave you, never?
Could the ocean leave the shore?
Will I worship you for ever?
Isn't heaven forever more?
Do I love you, do I?
Oh, my dear, it's so easy to see,
Don't you know I do?
Don't I show you I do,
Just as you love me?
Do I love you, do I?
Doesn't one and one make two?
Do I love you, do I?
Does July need a sky of blue?
Would I miss you, would I?
If you ever should go away?
If the sun should desert the day,
What would life be?
Will I leave you, never?
Could the ocean leave the shore?
Will I worship you for ever?
Isn't heaven forever more?
Do I love you, do I?
Oh, my dear, it's so easy to see,
Don't you know I do?
Don't I show you I do,
Just as you love me?
The song "Do I Love You?" by Judy Garland is a classic love song about the certainty and depth of love. The lyrics begin by referencing a "sweet Summer afternoon" when the singer first saw the object of her affection. From that moment on, she has been "dreaming of you" and has even composed a tune for them, which she asks if they will listen to.
The song's title is repeated throughout the chorus as the singer asks herself if she loves this person, as if seeking affirmation. However, the following lines make it clear that her love is not in question. She rhetorically asks if "one and one make two," implying that her love for this person is a given. She also equates the necessity of her love for this person to the necessity of a blue sky in July.
The lyric "Will I worship you forever?/Isn't heaven forever more?" reveals the depth of the singer's feeling for her love interest. The song concludes with the singer expressing her love outright, stating "Oh, my dear, it's so easy to see, don't you know I do? Don't I show you I do just as you love me?"
Overall, "Do I Love You?" is a sweet, romantic song that explores the depth and certainty of love. Through rhetorical questions and emotional metaphors, Judy Garland's lyrics express the singer's unwavering devotion to her love interest.
Line by Line Meaning
After that sweet Summer afternoon
Following the lovely summer day
When for the first time I saw you appear,
When I first laid eyes on you
Dreaming of you I composed a tune,
Thinking of you inspired me to create a melody
So will you listen to it, dear?
So will you kindly listen to my song, my love?
Do I love you, do I?
Do I have feelings of love for you?
Doesn't one and one make two?
Isn't it a simple math equation, if we both love each other?
Does July need a sky of blue?
Just like July needs a blue sky, don't I need you in my life?
Would I miss you, would I?
If you were to leave me, would I feel a sense of loss?
If you ever should go away?
If you were to leave and never come back?
If the sun should desert the day,
If the sun stopped shining during the day
What would life be?
What kind of life would that be?
Will I leave you, never?
Will I ever abandon you?
Could the ocean leave the shore?
Just like the ocean cannot be separated from its shore, I cannot leave you
Will I worship you for ever?
Will I honor and cherish you endlessly?
Isn't heaven forever more?
Isn't heaven meant to last for eternity?
Oh, my dear, it's so easy to see, Don't you know I do?
It's clear that I do love you, can't you see it?
Don't I show you I do, Just as you love me?
Aren't my actions proof that I love you, just as you do me?
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind