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 Hadn't Anyone Till You
Judy Garland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I hadn't anyone till you,
I was a lonely one 'til you,
I used to lie awake and wonder if there could be
A someone in the wide world just made for me,
Now I see

I had to save my love for you, (I saved my love for you)
I never gave my love 'til you, (I saved it all for you)

And through my lonely heart demanding it,
Cupid took a hand in it,
I hadn't anyone till you.

I kept my love in secrecy,
I put it under lock and key,
I had to save my love for you!
I never gave my love away,
I waited for that lucky day
When I could give it to you

And through my lonely heart demanding it,

Cupid took a hand in it,
I hadn't anyone till you.

Overall Meaning

The song "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" by Judy Garland is a beautiful love song that talks about how the singer never knew love until they met their significant other. The song opens with the singer acknowledging their loneliness without the significant other. They used to lie awake at night wondering if there could be someone made just for them. But now they see that their significant other is the answer to their prayers. The singer then goes on to talk about how they saved their love for their significant other. They never gave their love to anyone until they met them. The singer had to keep their love in secrecy and under lock and key until the day they met their significant other.

The chorus of the song talks about how Cupid had a hand in it, how the singer's lonely heart demanded love which they found in the significant other. The song is a beautiful portrayal of how meeting the right person can change everything. It is a testament to the transformative power of love. The way the lyrics are written is reflective of the emotions one feels when they've found that special person. There is a sense of completeness and fulfillment that is conveyed in the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

I hadn't anyone till you,
I never had a special person in my life until I met you.

I was a lonely one 'til you,
I was a lonely person until you became a part of my life.

I used to lie awake and wonder if there could be A someone in the wide world just made for me,
There was a time when I used to think if there exists someone in the world who is just right for me.

Now I see I had to save my love for you, (I saved my love for you)
Now I realize that it was always you who I had been waiting for and that's why I kept my love for you.

I never gave my love 'til you, (I saved it all for you)
I never gave my love to anyone until I had met you.

And through my lonely heart demanding it, Cupid took a hand in it,
My heart was longing for someone and Cupid played its part in bringing us together.

I Hadn't Anyone Till YouJudy Garland Lyrics

I Hadn't Anyone Till You
Judy Garland Lyrics