Judy Garland Wears Red, Hates Bourgeoisie

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We don’t know about you kids, but we wake up singing! You know, because we’re gay and gay people sing, like, all the time.

Okay, we don’t wake up singing. On the contrary, we typically wake up grumbling, but that’s not the point. So, what is the point? Good question.

Anyway, we were conducting our typical search of all things gay and came across this fairly entertaining dissection of some homo-inclined songs from South Africa’s Independent. In it, the journos Terry Kirby and Richard Smith decide whether some classic “gay” songs were, in fact, written to be gay or if they’ve been adopted by the homos. Of course, it wouldn’t be a list of fag-anthems without a bit of Judy Garland, right?

[Song:] Over the Rainbow, sung by Judy Garland, written by Ey Harburg . From The Wizard of Oz, released in 1938. Intentional or adopted? Adopted, as Garland’s personal tragedies mounted.

The story of the song: with lyrics epitomising the hopes and dreams of a young girl, it became a classic.

Lyrics: “Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly, Birds fly over the rainbow Why then, oh why can’t I? Some day I’ll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me, Where troubles melt like lemondrops, Away above the chimney tops That’s where you’ll find me.”

Smith’s verdict: the song’s longing for a socialist future gave voice to gay male aspirations before liberation even appeared in their dictionary.

Huh? We had no idea “Over the Rainbow” propagates socialism. We thought it dealt more with escape and personal validation. Now we hear that it’s actually some sort of call for an entire social revolution. Boy, are we self-centered, or what?

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