Get Happy
Judy Garland Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning

Forget your troubles, come on get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
Get ready for the judgment day

The sun is shining, come on get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy


We're going to the Promised Land

We're heading 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful
On the other side

Forget your troubles, come on get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
Get ready for the judgment day

The sun is shining, come on get happy
Chase your cares away
Hallelujah, get happy
Come on, the judgment day

The sun is shining, come on get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
We're gonna be going to the Promised Land

We're heading 'cross the river
Wash our sins away in the tide
It's quiet and peaceful
On the other side

Forget your troubles, get happy
Your cares fly away
Sing Hallelujah, get happy
Get ready for your judgment day

Come on get happy
Chase your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
Get ready for the judgment day

Shout and shine and come on get happy
Lord is waiting to take your hand
Hallelujah, come on get happy
We're gonna be going to the Promised Land

Heading 'cross the river
Wash our sins away in the tide
It's also peaceful
On the other side

Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy

Get ready, get ready
Get ready for the judgment day (hallelujah, hallelujah)

Overall Meaning

"Get Happy" is a song by Judy Garland, composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Ted Koehler, and first published in 1930. The lyrics are about forgetting one's troubles and enjoying life, with a focus on the idea that the eternal rewards of heaven will justify any earthly suffering.


Throughout the song, Garland insists that listeners should wash away their sins and prepare for the judgment day. She also gives hope that those who follow the right path will reach the Promised Land.


The opening lines, "Forget your troubles, come on get happy / You better chase all your cares away," are an invitation to listeners to tune into the song’s upbeat energy and positive message, which is reinforced by the chorus's repetition of "Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy / Get ready for the judgment day." The song's happiness, optimism, and emphasis on faith in God is also reflected in the lines which describe the peacefulness of the "other side" of the river where sins are washed away.


Overall, "Get Happy" is a joyous and spiritual tune that aims to inspire, which makes it a quintessential Judy Garland number.


Line by Line Meaning

Forget your troubles, come on get happy
Put your worries aside and focus on being happy


You better chase all your cares away
Make an effort to let go of your stresses and concerns


Shout Hallelujah, come on get happy
Express joy and excitement, embrace happiness


Get ready for the judgment day
Prepare yourself for the future and all it holds


The sun is shining, come on get happy
The world is bright and full of possibilities, enjoy it


The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Have faith and trust that things will work out in the end


We're going to the Promised Land
There is a hopeful future to look forward to


We're heading 'cross the river
We are on a journey, moving forward through life


Wash your sins away in the tide
Let go of past mistakes and start anew


It's all so peaceful on the other side
The future may be uncertain, but there is calmness and tranquility in the present moment


Your cares fly away
Your worries disappear and you feel free and unencumbered


Sing Hallelujah, get happy
Express your happiness and enthusiasm, celebrate life


Get ready, get ready
Prepare yourself emotionally, mentally, and spiritually


Come on get happy
Embrace the present moment and find joy


Chase your cares away
Actively work towards eliminating your worries and concerns


Shout and shine and come on get happy
Radiate positivity and happiness, express yourself


We're gonna be going to the Promised Land
There is hope and a better future ahead


It's also peaceful on the other side
The future may bring new challenges, but there is still a sense of calmness and serenity


You better chase all your cares away
Make an effort to let go of your worries and anxieties


Get ready, get ready
Prepare yourself for the future, mentally and emotionally


Get ready for the judgment day (hallelujah, hallelujah)
Prepare yourself for whatever comes next, and have faith in the future




Lyrics © S.A. MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

M B-B

Ebony only said the same
thing to My Carers This
Morning. We were watching
Liza & Mother Videos and
one of them mentioned
about Judy being tiny & I said
I wonder if all the Drugs she was
given stunted her growth. One of
Judy’s quotes was “ I am Short
With Really Long Legs” & You can
see in the clip For Come On Get Happy
how long her legs are.
Judy took six weeks off to lose weight
and to come off the Drugs and the
result her pulling off just wearing
a Dinner Jacket..



Ellie

There are many cuts in this sequence.
It's very obviously not a one take scene.

And by the way the production of this film was very troubled, it was at the end of Garland's film career and at times, almost didn't get finished at all.
There were large breaks in shooting with no guarantee at times that it would ever be finished.

Gene Kelly helped get it through.

The professionalism of both the leads was second to none but Garland was deep into her addiction by this stage.
You notice her weight fluctuate wildly throughout the picture, it took a long time to get it fully in the can with long breaks, weeks, between shooting.
It wasn't inevitable that it would even get finished.

Watch the extras on the DVD



Ellie

@Gerald Stephens

Gene Kelly was helped tremendously by Garland on his first film.
She was an old Hollywood hand by that stage, he was an incomer from New York theatre (he made his name initially as the lead in Pal Joey.

This was her last film and shooting was troubled because of her fluctuating weight and drug issues (caused by the studios in the first place let's not forget)

Kelly always felt a deep fondness and gratitude for Garland for helping him in that first picture (For Me And My Gal) and so he stood up for her throughout this last film.

They had great screen chemistry in the three films they starred in together.



M B-B

@Kelly Norman Now I’m really mad
how can someone so young as she
was when she started in Hollywood
A stand up for herself.
Her Mother Was A Stage Mum Who
Was Very Domineering + Her Boss
Louis B Mayer Who Was The Instigator
In Judy Taking Pills And Later Becoming
A Drinker. He Was So Cruel To Her
That During Filming Of Girl Crazy One
Scene She Had To Film Over And Over
She Ended Up Exhausted And Callapsed.
Filming The Lion Scene Of The Wizard
Of Oz They Couldn’t Stop Laughing in The End
She Was Pulled Aside And Slapped Across
The Face. So Please When You’re Being Abused
At A Young Age How Do You Get Away From
It. Maybe It’s You That Needs To Learn More
About Judy.
She Never Gave Up And Her Children Loved Her
as Did Her Fans.



M B-B

@AD-SD-vids You’re Point Being.
You can’t be a Judy Garland Fan
Because She Has Been Gone For
50 Years. I’ve Loved and Been
A Huge Fan Of Judy Garland
Since I Was A Little Girl & I’m
52. And I Believe when Elizabeth
Mentioned Auto Tune She Was Talking
About The Natural Talent Of Singers
Like Judy.



Adelina

Amazing scene!
Here are lyrics:

Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready for the judgement day
The sun is shinin', c'mon get happy
The Lord is waitin' to take your hand
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
We're going to the promise land
We're headin' 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side
Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready for the judgement day
Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy
Chase your cares away
Hallelu, get happy
Before the judgement day
The sun is shinin', c'mon get happy
The Lord is waitin' to take your hand
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
We're gonna be goin' to the promise land
Were headin' 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's quiet and peaceful on the other side
Forget your troubles, get happy
Your cares fly away
Shout "hallelujah", get happy
Get ready for your judgement day
C'mon get happy
Chase your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready for the judgment day
Sun is shinin', c'mon get happy
Lord is waitin' to take your hand
Hallelujah, c'mon get happy
We're goin' to the promise land
Headin' 'cross the river
Throw your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready, get ready, get ready
For the judgment day (hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu)



lampy

Forget your troubles and just get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Sing Hallelujah, come on, get happy
Get ready for the Judgment Day
The sun is shining, come on, get happy
The Lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on, get happy
We're going to the promised land
We're heading 'cross the river
Wash your sins 'way in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side
Forget your troubles and just get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on, get happy
Get ready for the Judgment Day
Forget your troubles and just get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Sing Hallelujah, come on, get happy
Get ready for the Judgment Day
That sun is shining, come on, get happy
The Lord is waiting to take you by the hand
Shout Hallelujah, come on, get happy
We're going to the promised land
We're heading 'cross the river
Wash your sins 'way in the tide
And it's all so nice and peaceful
When you get on the other side
Forget your troubles and just get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout Hallelujah, come on, get happy
Get ready for the Judgment Day
Forget your troubles, come on, get happy
Forget your troubles, come on, be happy
Forget your troubles, come on, stay happy
Happy, stay happy



비정한세상

"Get Happy"

Forget your troubles
Come on get happy
You better chase all you cares away
Shout hallelujah
Come on get happy
Get ready for the judgement day

The sun is shining
Come on get happy
The lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout hallelujah
Come on get happy
We're going to the promise land

We're heading across the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side

Forget your troubles
Come on get happy
Chase your cares away
Hallelu get happy
Before the judgement day

We're heading across the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's quiet and peaceful on the other side

Forget your troubles
Get happy
Your cares fly away
Shout hallelujah
Get happy
Get ready for your judgement day

Come on get happy
Chase your cares away
Shout hallelujah
Come on get happy
Get ready for the judgement day

The sun is shining
Come on get happy
The lord is waiting to take your hand
Hallelujah
Come on get happy
We're going to the promise land

We're heading across the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side

Shout hallelujah
Come on get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout hallelujah
Come on get happy
Get ready

Get ready

Get ready

For the judgement day



Big Gay

Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready for the judgement day

The sun is shinin', c'mon get happy
The Lord is waitin' to take your hand
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
We're going to the promise land

We're headin' 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side

Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready for the judgement day

Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy
Chase your cares away
Hallelu, get happy
Before the judgement day

The sun is shinin', c'mon get happy
The Lord is waitin' to take your hand
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
We're gonna be goin' to the promise land

Were headin' 'cross the river
Wash your sins away in the tide
It's quiet and peaceful on the other side

Forget your troubles, get happy
Your cares fly away
Shout "hallelujah", get happy
Get ready for your judgement day

C'mon get happy
Chase your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready for the judgment day

Sun is shinin', c'mon get happy
Lord is waitin' to take your hand
Hallelujah, c'mon get happy
We're goin' to the promise land

Headin' 'cross the river
Throw your sins away in the tide
It's all so peaceful on the other side

Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
You better chase all your cares away
Shout "hallelujah", c'mon get happy
Get ready, get ready, get ready
For the judgment day (hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu)



All comments from YouTube:

krissy crossway

it kills me that behind the scenes she was anything but happy. this poor woman suffered her entire life. But she was a natural entertainer so you'd never tell. beautiful beautiful beautiful.

Brian Setpente

There isn't anything Judy Garland couldn't sing she was the true star of the wizard of oz thank you Judy❤️

Linda Clark

@Natural Kinky Curly―Marie right; see my comments. People today just ...buy whatever they see/read. It's....absurd; like, they've given up their own power to reason , comprehend, discern. Well iiiiii haven't.

Linda Clark

@DyAnn Dalton there was nothing wrong with her ! She had access to narcotics, from a young age, which did mess with her moods. Stop calling her crazy, have some intelligence about people! Note her age when she got into show business, and was Given pills to 'help' her! Also, she was gone before things like AA, or the Betty Ford clinic! Judy, wherever you may be -thanks for leading the way, all of my sisters and I loved meet me in st Louis, and of course ....the wizard of oz! There's no place like home....and, there's noone like JUDY GARLAND!

Linda Clark

C'mon! Judy KNEW HER WORTH. you cannot take away her history- she had mega talent, and a great big heart! Enough to raise some kids she loved very much! Stop with maudlin when it should perhaps be, 'if only there had been a Betty Ford clinic back then-" period. Now c'mon get happy.

Laura B

@nickgreatpwrful The studio had her on a "diet" of pills, coffee, and cigarettes while she was filming The Wizard of Oz. She was 17.

75 More Replies...

Cricks Holland

She was pure magic!! She was fed drugs to wake her up and then knocked her out. Her mother was evil as was the stepfather. All of the heartache she felt she added to her music. Breathtaking!! So much raw talent!! Rip Judy

SymphonyBrahms

And her unhappy marriages. She was blessed with talent but not in her life.

M B-B

Ebony only said the same
thing to My Carers This
Morning. We were watching
Liza & Mother Videos and
one of them mentioned
about Judy being tiny & I said
I wonder if all the Drugs she was
given stunted her growth. One of
Judy’s quotes was “ I am Short
With Really Long Legs” & You can
see in the clip For Come On Get Happy
how long her legs are.
Judy took six weeks off to lose weight
and to come off the Drugs and the
result her pulling off just wearing
a Dinner Jacket..

𖤍

I just watched the original wizard of oz for the first time yesterday and it was amazing. I didn’t know she was 4’11! In the movie I was thinking she was young but very tall, maybe her hard life stunted her growth?

3 More Replies...
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