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 Could Go On Singing
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He is out all night, coo, cooing
When the owl's on a prowl or a feminine fowl
He goes out all night, woo, wooing
Every bird and bee has it's lunacy
In the way he works his dream off
But when I feel high, here's the way
Owls hoo, hoo, others sigh
Doves coo, coo, ah, how I
I could go on singing till the cows come home
And the rooster starts to crow, crow, crow
When I see your eyes, I go all out
I must vocalize till you shout, "Enough already"
I could go on singing till the moon turns pink
Anything from Faust to Ink-a-dink-a-dink
Love does funny things
When it hits you this way
I could go on singing till the cows come home
And the rooster starts to crow, crow, crow
When I see your eyes, I go all out
I must vocalize till you shout, "Enough already"
I could go on singing till the moon turns pink
Anything from Faust to Ink-a-dink-a-dink
Love does funny things
When it hits you this way
I must keep on singing, like a lark, going strong
With my heart on the wings of a song, singing day
and night
The lyrics of Judy Garland's song "I Could Go On Singing" speaks about how love affects different creatures and how it affects the singer as well. The song employs the metaphor of birds to describe how each creature expresses their love differently. The song highlights the different ways birds exhibit love, the dove coos all night, the owl hoots, while others sigh. The song also speaks about how love affects the singer; her love for someone inspires her to keep singing until her lover begs her to stop.
There is also the underlying theme of the unbridled passion that comes with loving someone, something that gets amplified when the singer's feelings for her lover grip her. The lyrics, "When I see your eyes, I go all out, I must vocalize till you shout, 'Enough already'" demonstrates this. The singer expresses how she cannot contain her passion, and how it manifests through her singing.
Overall, the song is a love song that explores the different ways love manifests, the passion it brings out, and the tenacity one can exhibit when in love.
Line by Line Meaning
When a dove is in love with a doll of a dove
If a male dove loves a stuffed toy dove, he stays out all night making cooing sounds.
When the owl's on a prowl or a feminine fowl
If an owl or a female bird is looking for a mate, they stay out all night hooting or making other sounds to attract a mate.
Every bird and bee has its lunacy
All birds and insects behave strangely and obsessively when they are trying to attract a mate.
In the way he works his dream off
They have their own way of working out their desires.
But when I feel high, here's the way
However, when I feel happy and content, this is how I express it.
That I like to get my kind of steam off
Through singing, I feel refreshed and energetic.
Owls hoo, hoo, others sigh
While owls hoot, other birds sigh to convey their feelings.
Doves coo, coo, ah, how I
I also express my joy and love by cooing like a dove.
I could go on singing till the cows come home
I could sing for as long as I want.
And the rooster starts to crow, crow, crow
Until morning comes and the rooster starts to crow.
When I see your eyes, I go all out
When I see you, I feel compelled to express my love with all I've got.
I must vocalize till you shout, "Enough already"
I will keep singing until you tell me to stop.
I could go on singing till the moon turns pink
I could sing for an impossibly long time.
Anything from Faust to Ink-a-dink-a-dink
I could sing any song on any topic.
Love does funny things
Love can make you do strange things.
When it hits you this way
When love affects you in this manner.
I must keep on singing, like a lark, going strong
I will continue to sing energetically, like a bird, without stopping.
With my heart on the wings of a song, singing day
I will sing all day with my heart lifted by the melody and lyrics of the song.
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC., Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: E.Y. HARBURG, HAROLD ARLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Wayne Oates
Kids, it just doesn't get any better than this. A star, a mega talent...a legend - Judy Garland.
jeh500
Garland improvised this whole scene (my uncle worked on the set.)
The song is not a great one but she makes it seem great. The footage
captures her as she was in thousands of concerts, She is basically playing
herself here. I saw her in live concerts. I can't describe the effect she had on her audiences. Not one gimmick. Just a great artist giving 200%. At her best,
no one could touch her. She always moved the audience.
CitiZen
LOVE this & I always felt she was playing herself in this film.
I lived a stone's throw from Stoke Poges & walked in her footsteps in the famous church (my car was broken into in the Church car park!)
Gregory Amadeus
jeh500 this is fantastic thank you
egogo816
That's crazy was your uncle there when they shot the hospital scene? and was that Judy venting about the bullshit she had been through if she was playing herself?
Joe Guzman aka Joey Josephs
jeh500 this part was done st the London palladium..... did your uncle tell you any stories about working with her ?
Frankie Bowie
She has the heartfelt intensity of a Gena Rowlands in this movie.
Song is not bad - It’s Harold Arlen, no?
Mark Whitman
Even when her voice cracks on occasion she is still a mesmerizing presence and soooo much better than anyone else! Forget technical singing she rises above this with sheer PRESENCE and a magical stage management with no peer. She was definitely something ethereal and I am a non- believer.
Ralph Fitzgerald
This woman was one of the greats of her time,god blessed her with a magical voice that could make you smile.
John Campolo
No singer can touch Judy Garland: past or present!! What a voice!! She was a very good actress and good dancer as well. What do we have these days. Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady G a Ga ( every time I hear her sing I GA GA) etc.