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).
Poor You
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Poor you, I'm sorry you're not me,
For you will never know what loving you can be.
Poor you, you'll never know your charms,
You'll never feel your warmth,
You're never in your arms.
When it is you I'm kissing,
I pity you constantly,
For you're only kissing poor me.
Poor you, you live your whole life through,
And yet you'll never know the thrill of loving you.
Musical intermission
When it is you I`m kissing,
I pity you constantly ,
You don't know what your missing for your only kissing poor me
Poor you, you live your whole life through
And never know what loving you can be
Judy Garland's song "Poor You" is a melancholic tune that talks about somebody who pities a person for not being able to love themselves. Garland's voice brings out the loneliness and emptiness that the unnamed person feels as they crave for love that they cannot find. The opening lines "Poor You, I'm sorry you're not me" may seem like an arrogant statement at first, but it is simply a way of showing the person that they are missing out on a great feeling. The singer says that "you will never know what loving you can be." This line is powerful, as it speaks to the idea that self-love is crucial in experiencing happiness and fulfillment.
The song's opening stanza brings out a sense of yearning and longing that the singer has for this person, who seems to be incapable of experiencing love. The singer pities the person as they may never know their own beauty or feel the warmth of their own body. The singer says that this person will never know the feeling of being in their arms. The second stanza is a further elaboration of the first, where the singer points out that the person is missing out on the joy of being kissed by the singer.
In conclusion, "Poor You" is a beautiful and sad song that highlights the importance of self-love. It shows that missing out on experiencing love for oneself can lead to a lifelong sense of emptiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Poor you
I feel sorry for you
Poor you, I'm sorry you're not me, For you will never know what loving you can be.
I pity you for not being me because you'll never truly experience the love that I can give.
Poor you, you'll never know your charms, You'll never feel your warmth, You're never in your arms.
I feel sorry that you don't know how charming, warm, and comforting you truly are.
When it is you I'm kissing, I pity you constantly, You don't know what you're missing, For you're only kissing poor me.
I feel sorry for you every time we kiss because you don't know what you're missing by only kissing me.
Poor you, you live your whole life through, And yet you'll never know the thrill of loving you.
I feel sorry that you will never experience the thrill of loving yourself.
When it is you I`m kissing, I pity you constantly , You don't know what your missing for your only kissing poor me
I feel sorry for you every time we kiss because you don't know what you're missing by only kissing me.
Poor you, you live your whole life through And never know what loving you can be.
I feel sorry that you will never truly know how fulfilling it is to love yourself.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BURTON LANE, E.Y. HARBURG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
iAmLouise
Beautiful. :-)