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).
No Love No Nothin'
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm just about as solitary
As anyone could be
Of course my life is not so merry
But that's alright with me
No love, no nothin',
No sir! No nothin',
As long as baby must roam,
I promised him I'd wait for him
Till even Hades froze,
I'm lonesome, Heaven knows,
But what I said still goes,
No love, no nothin',
And that's a promise I'll keep,
No fun with no one,
I'm getting plenty of sleep
My heart's on strike
And though it's like an empty honeycomb,
No love, no sir! No nothin',
Till my baby comes home
My heart's on strike
And though it's like an empty honeycomb,
No love, no sir! No nothin',
Till my baby comes home
No Sir, I'm waiting
Till my baby comes home.
In Judy Garland's song "No Love No Nothin'," the singer expresses their solitary situation and the lack of love in their life. The singer is content with their life, even though it is not a happy one, because they have promised to wait for their lover until they return. The lyrics suggest that the singer's heart is on strike and their life is like an empty honeycomb because they have nobody to love. The singer repeats the phrase "no love, no nothin'" to emphasize the specific conditions they have set for themselves until their lover comes back.
Line by Line Meaning
No love, no nothin'.
I have nothing without my love, nothing at all.
I'm just about as solitary
I am extremely alone.
As anyone could be
I am the most alone anyone could ever be.
Of course my life is not so merry
Obviously my life is not very happy.
But that's alright with me
But I'm okay with that.
Until my baby comes home,
I won't have anything until my love returns.
No sir! No nothin',
I won't have anything, no matter what.
As long as baby must roam,
Even if my love has to be away.
I promised him I'd wait for him
I promised my love I would wait.
Till even Hades froze,
I'll wait as long as I have to, even if it takes forever.
I'm lonesome, Heaven knows,
I am so alone, God himself knows.
But what I said still goes,
I'm sticking to my promise, no matter what.
And that's a promise I'll keep,
I will definitely keep my promise.
No fun with no one,
I won't have any fun until my love returns.
I'm getting plenty of sleep
At least I'm sleeping a lot.
My heart's on strike
My heart is not working properly.
And though it's like an empty honeycomb,
It feels like there's nothing there, like an empty beehive.
Till my baby comes home
I won't be complete until my love returns.
No Sir, I'm waiting
I'm waiting, and that's final.
Till my baby comes home.
I'll be waiting until my love returns.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY WARREN, LEO ROBIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind