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).
When You're Smiling
Judy Garland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The Whole World, Smiles with you.
When you're laughing,When you're Laughing
The Sun Comes shining through.
But When you're crying,
You Bring on the rain.
So stop your sighing,
When You're Smiling, When you're Smiling
The Whole World, Smiles with you!
Judy Garland's song, "When You're Smiling," is an upbeat and optimistic tune that speaks to the power of a positive attitude. The opening lines, "When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you," suggests that a person's joy can be contagious and that happiness can spread to those around them. As if to reinforce this idea, the song's next lines state that "when you're laughing, the sun comes shining through."
This emphasis on laughter and joy is contrasted with the negative impact of crying and sadness. The lyrics suggest that when a person is sad and crying, they have a tendency to "bring on the rain," both literally and metaphorically. The song urges individuals to stop their sighing and choose happiness instead.
Overall, the message of the song is clear: a positive attitude and a smile can go a long way in spreading happiness and bringing people together. The melody of the song reinforces this message, with a bouncy, lively tune that inspires listeners to embrace joy and optimism.
Line by Line Meaning
When You're Smiling, When you're Smiling
When you are happy and showing it by smiling
The Whole World, Smiles with you.
Everyone around you is influenced by your happiness and smiling along
When you're laughing,When you're Laughing
When you are genuinely laughing and finding joy in life
The Sun Comes shining through.
The good things in life become more evident and apparent
But When you're crying,
On the other hand, if you are crying and sad
You Bring on the rain.
You attract more negativity and bad things into your life
So stop your sighing,
Therefore, it is important to stop your sadness and negativity
Be Happy Again.
And focus on finding joy and positivity once again
When You're Smiling, When you're Smiling
Because when you are happy and smiling
The Whole World, Smiles with you!
It has a contagious effect and people around you will also start to smile and be happy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay, Mark Fisher
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SaxonC
This is raw talent and what real singing is! Judy Garland was and always will be, The World’s GREATEST Entertainer! RIP dear Lady! You are greatly missed! God bless you ❤️ 🌈
@PJINCALIF
And the crowd goes crazy for the greatest female entertainer of the 20th century!!!
@terrysmith8749
They went crazy for the GREATEST ENTERTAINER OF ALL TIME, MALE OR FEMALE. THERE WAS NO ONE BETTER. PERIOD!!!
@grai
she really relaxes and enjoys it because she can see the crowd is right behind her - love this
@5420lindley
Unquestionably the greatest...Never another like her...never
@kevinjudy7218
Walter H Harrison absolutely! #
@SaxonC
Just the introduction gave me chills and when she appears and sings, she kills me! The exhilaration! Pure Magic! Miss Show Business!
@joeyjosephs
I think she looks healthy here and sounds great, I am glad that the audience showed her the love she deserved
@emg8810
If the network would have only let Judy be Judy!
@glenconmc
It is a shame they didn't have the real fans in the audience when she did her weekly TV shows, a lot of the time it was staff and their wives etc.