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).
Me and My Shadow
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Standing on the corner feeling blue
Sweethearts out for fun
Pass me one by one
Guess I'll wind up like I always do
With only
Me and my shadow
Strolling down the avenue
Not a soul to tell our troubles to
And when it's twelve o'clock
We climb the stair
We never knock
For nobody's there
Just me and my shadow
All alone and feeling blue
When the sun sets on the far horizon
And the parlor lamps begin to glow
Jim and Jack and John
Put their slippers on
They're all set but we'restill on the go
So lonely
Me and my shadow
Strolling down the avenue
Me and my shadow
Not a soul to tell our troubles to
And when it's twelve o'clock
We climb the stair
We never knock
For nobody's there
Just me and my shadow
All alone and feeling blue.
The lyrics of Judy Garland's song Me and My Shadow describe loneliness and the feeling of being left out. The shades of the night start to fall and the singer is left standing alone on the corner feeling blue, watching the sweethearts pass by one by one. The singer realizes that she'll wind up alone as she always does with only her shadow as her companion. The shadow becomes the only friend to share the singer's troubles with as they stroll down the avenue together, alone and feeling blue.
The loneliness is further emphasized when the sun sets on the far horizon and people around the singer put on their slippers and settle in for the night, but the singer and her shadow still have no one to go home to. They climb the stairs alone and never knock because nobody's there to open the door. The song's repeated phrase "Me and my shadow" reinforces the idea that the only companion the singer has is her own shadow, making the feeling of loneliness palpable throughout the entire song.
Line by Line Meaning
Shades of night are falling and I'm lonely
As the darkness surrounds me, I'm filled with loneliness and despair.
Standing on the corner feeling blue
I'm standing here with a heavy heart, feeling depressed and downcast.
Sweethearts out for fun
Couples are out enjoying their time together.
Pass me one by one
I watch them go by, envious of the love they share.
Guess I'll wind up like I always do
I fear that my fate will always be the same –alone and unloved.
With only
Me and my shadow
Strolling down the avenue
The only companion I have is my shadow as we walk down the lonely street.
Me and my shadow
Not a soul to tell our troubles to
I have nobody to share my woes with, the only one who hears is my shadow.
And when it's twelve o'clock
We climb the stair
We never knock
For nobody's there
At the stroke of midnight, we climb the stairs alone without any company or visitors, and we don't bother knocking as no one is there to receive us.
Just me and my shadow
All alone and feeling blue
I'm left with only my shadow to keep me company, feeling lost and sad.
When the sun sets on the far horizon
And the parlor lamps begin to glow
As the day draws to an end and the evening starts, parlor lamps light up in the distance.
Jim and Jack and John
Put their slippers on
They're all set but we'restill on the go
My friends Jim, Jack, and John are settling in for the night while I'm still out and about, searching for something I don't have.
So lonely
Me and my shadow
Strolling down the avenue
Feeling alone and desolate, I walk with my shadow down the empty street.
Me and my shadow
Not a soul to tell our troubles to
My lone companion and I have no one to confide in about our issues.
And when it's twelve o'clock
We climb the stair
We never knock
For nobody's there
The cycle repeats itself as we once again make our way home in the dead of night, climbing the stairs to an empty house.
Just me and my shadow
All alone and feeling blue.
As always, I'm left with only my shadow as company, feeling sad and low.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al Jolson, Billy Rose, Dave Dreyer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind