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).
The Wizard Of Oz: The Merry Old Land Of Oz
Judy Garland Lyrics
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cold;
Where you're never too young and you're never too old,
Where you're never too thin or tall.
And you're never, never, never too, too, too anything at all,Oh!
You're not too mad and you're not too sane
And you don't compare and you don't complain,
All you do is just sit tight, 'cause it's all so, so, so, so down-right, right.
That's how we laugh the day away,
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
'Bzz-'bzz-'bzz Chirp, chirp, chirp, and a couple of la-de-das.
That's how the crickets crick all day
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
We get up at twelve and start work at one,
Take an hour for lunch and then at two we're done, Jolly good run
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho! And a couple of tra-la-las,
That's how we laugh the day away,
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.Ha-ha-ha!
Ho-ho-ho and a couple of tra-la0las,
That's how we laugh the day away,
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
'Bzz-'bzz-'bzz Chirp, chirp, chirp, and a couple of la-de-das.
That's how the crickets crick all day
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
We get up at twelve and start work at one,
Take an hour for lunch and then at two we're done, Jolly good run
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho! And a couple of tra-la-las,
That's how we laugh the day away,
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
The Merry Old Land of Oz is a song from the iconic Judy Garland's musical movie, The Wizard of Oz. The song is a depiction of the perfect place, a garden spot that is ideal for everyone regardless of their age, size or mental state. In Oz, no one is too thin or too tall or too mad or too sane. Everyone is accepted for who they are. There are no comparisons or complaints; everyone just sits tight and enjoys the perfect environment.
The song also depicts how life in Oz is stress-free and fun-filled. The inhabitants of this land wake up late, start work late, take long lunch breaks, and finish work early. This routine allows them to spend more time laughing and having fun, represented by the repeated lines, "ha-ha-ha, ho-ho-ho, and a couple of tra-la-las." The song suggests that the Merry Old Land of Oz is a utopia, free from the problems and struggles of ordinary life.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a garden spot, I'm told,where it's never too hot and it's never too cold;
There is a place said to exist that is always the perfect temperature, never too hot or too cold.
Where you're never too young and you're never too old,
In this place, age doesn't matter, you are never too young or too old.
Where you're never too thin or tall.
You also don't have to worry about being too thin or too tall in this place.
And you're never, never, never too, too, too anything at all,Oh!
No matter what, you can never be too anything in this perfect place.
You're not too mad and you're not too sane
Mental state does not matter either, as you are never too mad or too sane.
And you don't compare and you don't complain,
In this place, there is no need to compare or complain about anything.
All you do is just sit tight, 'cause it's all so, so, so, so down-right, right.
All you have to do is sit back and enjoy because everything is just so downright right in this place.
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho and a couple of tra-la-las,
The laughter here is carefree and easy, with ha-ha-ha's, ho-ho-ho's, and tra-la-las.
That's how we laugh the day away,
Laughter fills our days in this perfect place.
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
This place is none other than the Merry Old Land of Oz.
'Bzz-'bzz-'bzz Chirp, chirp, chirp, and a couple of la-de-das.
Even the sounds of nature add to the joy with buzzing, chirping, and la-de-das.
That's how the crickets crick all day
The crickets themselves seem to be laughing and enjoying this perfect place.
We get up at twelve and start work at one,
Even work is carefree and easy here, with a lazy start time of noon and work that begins at one.
Take an hour for lunch and then at two we're done, Jolly good run
The workday is short, with a lunch break in the middle, and it's all good fun.
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho! And a couple of tra-la-las,
And of course, there's more laughter to be had with ha-ha-ha's, ho-ho-ho's, and tra-la-las.
That's how we laugh the day away,
Laughter fills our days in the Merry Old Land of Oz.
In The Merry Old Land Of Oz.
It truly is the perfect place, none other than the Merry Old Land of Oz.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: E HARBURG, E.Y. HARBURG, HAROLD ARLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind