Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress and si… Read Full Bio ↴Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer from Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award, won a Golden Globe Award, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her work in films, as well as Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award. She had a contralto singing range.

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).

I’m Just Wild About Harry
Judy Garland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I am here to state
I'm here to relate
To explain
And make it plain that:
I`m just wild about Harry
And Harry's wild about me
The heavenly blisses of his
Kisses fill me with ecstasy

He's sweet just like sugar candy
And just like honey from a bee
Oh, I`m just wild about Harry
And he's just wild about
He can't do without
He's just wild about me
Oh I`m just wild about Mandy
And Mandy's wild about me
Oh, I`m just wild about Harry
And Harry's wild about me
The heavenly blisses of his kisses
Fill me with ecstasy
He's sweet just like sugar candy
And just like honey from a bee

Oh, I`m just wild about Harry
And he's just wild about me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Judy Garland's song "I'm Just Wild About Harry" express the singer's utter infatuation with a man named Harry, who is equally enamored with her. The repetition of the phrase "wild about" emphasizes the intense passion and desire that the singer feels for Harry. The use of imagery comparing his kisses to "heavenly blisses" and describing him as sweet as sugar candy and honey from a bee emphasizes the singer's physical attraction to Harry. The line "He can't do without, he's just wild about me" underscores the mutual nature of their love and suggests that they are deeply connected and reliant on each other.

The song was written by African American composer Noble Sissle and lyricist Eubie Blake for the Broadway musical Shuffle Along. It was originally performed by Sissle and Blake themselves and became a hit, eventually becoming a popular jazz standard. Judy Garland recorded her version of the song in 1943 for the movie "Girl Crazy."

Line by Line Meaning

I am here to state
I am here to declare

I'm here to relate
I am here to communicate

To explain
To make clear

And make it plain that:
And make it clear that:

I'm just wild about Harry
I am passionately in love with Harry

And Harry's wild about me
And Harry loves me just as passionately

The heavenly blisses of his kisses fill me with ecstasy
The pleasure of his kisses bring me to a state of euphoria

He's sweet just like sugar candy
He is charming and delightful, like sweet candy

And just like honey from a bee
And just as honey is essential to a bee, he is essential to me

He can't do without
He cannot live without

Oh, I'm just wild about Mandy
Oh, I am also passionately in love with Mandy