“Somewhere over the rainbow, way up
high
There’s a land that I heard of,
once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies
are blue
And the dreams that you dare to
dream, really do come true.
Someday I’ll wish upon a star and
wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon
drops, away above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow
bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh, why can’t I ?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh, why can’t I?”
~ “Over The Rainbow”
~ “The Wizard of Oz”
~ 1939
“Over the Rainbow” is a ballad
composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the
1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and was sung by actress Judy Garland in her
starring role as Dorothy Gale. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
and became Garland’s signature song.
About five minutes into the film,
Dorothy sings the song after failing to get Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and the farm
hands to listen to her story of an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto,
and the town spinster, Miss Gulch. Aunt Em tells her to “find yourself a place
where you won’t get into any trouble.” This prompts her to walk off by herself,
musing to Toto, “Some place where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there
is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a
boat, or a train. It’s far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain...” at
which point she begins singing.
A
rainbow paints the sky over the Kittatinny Ridge in the late afternoon of a
beautiful early November day along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage
Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.
With
the rainbow juxtaposed by the house at the top of the mountain, it reminded me
of a scene straight out of a fairytale!
In
the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap
in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature
Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware
and the D&L Trail.
The
Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh
Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running
from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and
Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.
