The great Kermit the Frog once asked in song, “Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” In fact, Kermit, the plush green Muppet, did so literally in a tune about rainbows. Oh, the irony. But the question remains … Are there so many songs about rainbows? And what’s on the other side?
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Well, here we wanted to dive into three examples of songs about that trick of light we see after a storm. That image that supposedly leads one to a pot of gold. Yes, below, these are three classic songs about rainbows. For you, for Kermit, for everyone.
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“Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland
With all apologies to Mr. The Frog, this is the most famous song about rainbows. From the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, a movie that incorporates color in groundbreaking ways, “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” which is sung by entertainment star Judy Garland, is the key tune of the film. The aspiration in the voice of Garland (as main character Dorothy) is essential to the plot. She gets away—over the rainbow. She gets her wish. But it’s not all that she hoped. In the song, Garland sings,
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true-ooh-ooh
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops that’s where
You’ll find me
“She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones
The best known classic rock song about rainbows, this 1967 tune by The Rolling Stones from their album Their Satanic Majesties Request equates the colorful psychedelic image to a woman. Lead singer Mick Jagger is infatuated with this brilliantly bright, colorful woman, even how she combs her hair is magnificent. Indeed, a rainbow can be just about anything, from a trick of light to a loving pulse. Sings Jagger,
She comes in colours everywhere
She combs her hair
She’s like a rainbow
Coming colours in the air
Oh, everywhere
She comes in colours
Have you seen her dressed in blue?
See the sky in front of you
And her face is like a sail
Speck of white, so fair and pale
Have you seen a lady fairer?
“The Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog
And here we are with Kermit. His banjo song, sung from the swamp, about the wondrous majesty of the rainbow. Sings the felt green frog on the 1979 song from the film, The Muppet Movie,
Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions
But only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong wait and see
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
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