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).

Memories of You
Judy Garland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Waking skies
At Sunrise,
Every sunset too,
Seems to be
Bringing me
Memories of you.

Here and there,

Everywhere,
Scenes that we once knew,
And they all
Just recall
Memories of you.

How I wish I could forget
Those happy yesteryears
That have left a rosary of tears.

Your face beams
In my dreams,
Spite of all I do!
Everything
Seems to bring
Memories of you.

How I wish I could forget
Those happy yesteryears
That have left a rosary of tears.

Your face beams
In my dreams,
Spite of all I do!
Everything
Seems to bring

Memories,
All those memories of you.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Judy Garland's song "Memories Of You" convey the experience of longing for someone who has left one's life, and whose memory continues to persist in everything experienced. The opening lines suggest that the memories are with the singer at all times, even as the sky changes with each sunrise and sunset. The memories are all-encompassing, as they are brought to mind by scenes and places that were once shared with the person who is no longer there. The second stanza expresses a desire to forget the past, to "leave behind the days we knew". However, the third stanza conveys the persistence of these memories, which continue to linger in dreams despite the singer's efforts to move on. The final lines express the singer's feeling of being haunted by these memories, which continue to follow her despite her efforts to escape them.

"Memories Of You" was written by jazz musician Eubie Blake and the lyricist Andy Razaf in 1930. The song was first featured in the Broadway musical Blackbirds of 1930, which was a landmark production that showcased African American talent and culture. The song became a hit both on Broadway and in pop charts, and it became a jazz standard that has been recorded by countless artists since its creation, including Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bette Midler.

Some interesting facts about "Memories Of You" include that it was the first time Judy Garland recorded a song with Axel Stordahl, a frequent collaborator of Frank Sinatra. Additionally, in 1961, Garland recorded the song again for her album The Garland Touch, this time in a swinging jazz arrangement that was influenced by the Great American Songbook tradition. The song has also been referenced in pop culture, including in the 2003 film Love Actually, where Hugh Grant's character performs a choreographed dance to a remix of the song.

Chords: Gm7 C7 F Ebdim D7 Gm7 C7 F

Line by Line Meaning

Waking skies
The sky looks the same as it did when we were together

At Sunrise,
Even the start of a new day reminds me of you

Every sunset too,
And the end of each day as well

Seems to be
It's as if everything is

Bringing me
Reminding me of

Memories of you.
All the good times we had together

Here and there,
Everywhere I look

Everywhere,
All over the place

Scenes that we once knew,
I see things that we used to do together

And they all
Everything I see