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).
San Francisco
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This great big world to make a place you love
My home up on the hill
I find I love you still
I've been away but now I'm back to tell you
San Francisco
Open your golden gate
San Francisco
Here is your wandering one
Saying I'll wander no more
Other places only make me love you best
Tell me you're the heart of all the golden west
San Francisco
Welcome me home again
I'm coming home
To go roaming no more
The song "San Francisco" by Judy Garland was written by Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann for the 1936 movie "San Francisco". The song evokes the beauty and charm of San Francisco, emphasizing its welcoming nature and its place as the heart of the golden west. As the lyrics say, it only takes a tiny corner of this great big world to make a place you love, and for the singer, that place is San Francisco. The song is a love letter to the city, and it captures the longing for home that many people feel when they are away.
The singer's home up on the hill is a metaphor for her love for San Francisco – no matter where she goes or how long she's gone, she still loves the city. The line "Other places only make me love you best" emphasizes this point, as the singer describes how other places she's been pale in comparison to the beauty and charm of San Francisco. In the chorus, the singer calls out to the city, urging it to open its golden gate and welcome her home. She declares that she's done wandering and that she's returning to San Francisco for good.
Overall, the song "San Francisco" celebrates the beauty, charm, and welcoming nature of the city. It captures the feeling of longing for home that many people experience when they are away, and it expresses the singer's deep love for San Francisco.
Line by Line Meaning
It only takes a tiny corner of
A small area can be enough to create a special place that one can love.
This great big world to make a place you love
It doesn't have to be a huge space to become a place dear to someone's heart.
My home up on the hill
My place of residence situated at an elevated location.
I find I love you still
I realize that I continue to have a deep affection for you.
I've been away but now I'm back to tell you
I have been away for some time, but I have returned to express my sentiment.
San Francisco
The city of San Francisco.
Open your golden gate
Please allow me to enter your city with open arms.
You let no stranger wait outside your door
You welcome outsiders in a friendly and hospitable way.
San Francisco
The city of San Francisco.
Here is your wandering one
I am the wanderer who has arrived at your doorstep.
Saying I'll wander no more
This time I have come to settle down and not wander elsewhere.
Other places only make me love you best
Traveling to other places has only reinforced my affection for you, San Francisco.
Tell me you're the heart of all the golden west
Confirm that you are the center of attraction in the western part of the United States.
San Francisco
The city of San Francisco.
Welcome me home again
Please receive me in my cherished city once again.
I'm coming home
I am returning to the place where I belong.
To go roaming no more
I am settling here without the urge to wander any further.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Walter Jurmann, Gus Kahn, Bronislaw Kaper
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PanamaBob1942
Garland has just triumphed in the Carnegie Hall concert and took her concert to San Francisco. I was 19 and wanted to see her...went to the box office, sold out...of course. Just as I started to leave, a man rushed to the box office and wanted to see if her could get a refund on two mezzanine tickets..I and another lost soul grabbed them. I have never experienced anything like that concert in all the years since. The moment she walked out on that stage, the electricity jumped across the footlights, the audience was electrified, and she held all 5,000 of us in the palm of her hand. She was absolutely amazing. After the show, I ran to the rear of the Civic Auditorium, hoping to see her leave. Her limo was there, waiting...I was next to the rear window when this tiny woman appeared at the stage door, acknowledged the cheers, climbed in and scooted over to where she was 5 inches away from my beaming face. Like an awkward fan I yelled through the glass, "I love you!" She beamed a huge a smile and yelled back..."I love you, too!" I cherish that memory to this day.
@hollywoodpills
Im a 29yr-old guy in 2021 and this is by far my favourite fucking song to listen to almost every day....and several times a day if Im drinking :p Her talent is untouchable and ageless. Judy fucking rocks!!
@Robert4770
The greatest star that ever stood on a stage. Nobody was even close to her in excitement and talent. Peggy Lee said it best......."at the end, at her tragic end she was still better then everyone else put together".
@JRichinDaHouse
Judy died on the year I was born. So I only knew her from the Wizard of Oz when I was growing up. Thank God for YouTube because I'm discovering what a great tallent she really was. I can't get enough of her.
@5301mike
In my book, JUDY GARLAND was is & always will be best person to ever step on a stage.
@VickiDavisDesigns
I envy those who had the chance to see Judy live. She seems to have been loaded with talent in every nook and cranny of her mind, body and soul. And I appreciate her for it.
@jonathankieranwriter
Vicki Davis ... Such a good observation. She exudes power and charisma even through a YouTube screen.
Just imagine what it was to experience her in person.
Obviously, that’s a huge reason for her success after the movies.
She delivered.
@SHARKTIC5
Love Judy but her Melbourne Australia Concerts were troubled. Hours late. Forgot lyrics. A few loyal Fans helped her with the lyrics. Others walked out.
@MrJawstherevenge87
@@SHARKTIC5 well the confiscated her pills before she performed in Melbourne I think
@RandyWilsonESQ
Omg! You mean she wasn’t perfect? How dare she be a human being - shame shame