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).
Fascinatin' Rhythm
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That pit-a-pats through my brain;
So darn persistent,
The day isn't distant
When it'll drive me insane.
Comes in the morning
Without any warning,
And hangs around me all day.
Someday, and speak up to it.
I hope it listens when I say:
Refrain:
Fascinating Rhythm,
You've got me on the go!
Fascinating Rhythm,
I'm all a-quiver.
When a mess you're making!
The neighbours want to know
Why I'm always shaking
Just like a flivver.
Each morning I get up with the sun -
Start a-hopping,
Never stopping -
To find at night no work has been done.
I know that
Once it didn't matter -
But now you're doing wrong;
When you start to patter
I'm so unhappy.
Won't you take a day off?
Decide to run along
Somewhere far away off -
And make it snappy!
Oh, how I long to be the man I used to be!
Fascinating rhythm,
On won't you stop picking on me?
In Judy Garland's "Fascinating Rhythm", the singer finds herself unable to escape the rhythm that has taken over her mind. She describes the rhythm as "persistent", and fears that one day it will drive her insane. The rhythm comes without warning, and hangs around her all day, interfering with her ability to focus on anything else. She begs the rhythm to give her a break, to take a day off and let her go back to the way things used to be. The chorus of the song repeatedly exclaims that the rhythm is "fascinating", and that it has gotten her "on the go" and "all a-quiver".
Line by Line Meaning
Got a little rhythm, a rhythm, a rhythm
I have a persistent beat that's always in my head.
That pit-a-pats through my brain;
It constantly beats, like the sound of tapping.
So darn persistent,
It's extremely unyielding.
The day isn't distant
I can tell that it's getting worse and worse.
When it'll drive me insane.
It might push me to the brink of insanity.
Comes in the morning
I wake up with it.
Without any warning,
It surprises me every time.
And hangs around me all day.
It lingers with me.
I'll have to sneak up to it
I'll have to try and slowly approach it.
Someday, and speak up to it.
I'll try to talk to it one day.
I hope it listens when I say:
I hope it hears me out.
Fascinating Rhythm,
It's not just any rhythm, it's fascinating.
You've got me on the go!
It's affecting me deeply.
I'm all a-quiver.
I'm shaking from it.
When a mess you're making!
It's causing chaos within me.
The neighbours want to know
People are noticing.
Why I'm always shaking
They question why I'm constantly trembling.
Just like a flivver.
Like an old car that's falling apart.
Each morning I get up with the sun -
I start each day early.
Start a-hopping,
I'm energized and ready to go.
Never stopping -
I'm constantly moving.
To find at night no work has been done.
But I realize I haven't accomplished anything by the end of the day.
I know that
I understand that.
Once it didn't matter -
I used to not care about the rhythm.
But now you're doing wrong;
But it's gone too far now.
When you start to patter
When the rhythm starts up.
I'm so unhappy.
It makes me very sad.
Won't you take a day off?
Please take a break.
Decide to run along
Go somewhere else.
Somewhere far away off -
Go very far away.
And make it snappy!
Do it quickly.
Oh, how I long to be the man I used to be!
I miss the time before the rhythm took over.
Fascinating rhythm,
The rhythm is still fascinating, but overwhelming.
On won't you stop picking on me?
Please stop torturing me with your constant presence.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind