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Judy Garland - Over the Rainbow

In her youth Judy Garland was forced to take amphetamines (speed) to maintain her weight and keep her going through insane work schedules forced upon her by her mother and by film studios. She was also given barbiturates to quickly put her to sleep, whenever that rare opportunity arose. You can imagine what that does to a person’s natural functions. Garland struggled with drug addiction fro the rest of her life.

This video is the most emotional “music video” ever made. This footage, from a live 1955 performance on CBS’s Ford Star Jubilee, shows Garland coming down from a high. With all the struggles in her life, from drugs and an abortion to multiple failed marriages and intense media scrutiny over her weight, by 1955 Garland was a mess.

In the video Garland sings her most famous song, a song about a girl’s dreams, realizing at the same time that her own dreams had been taken from her in the name of show business. When she forces back tears, she does not do so in character. The tears come from deep emotional wounds from a lifetime of physical and emotional trauma. She recognizes in this forlorn manner how terribly ironic her performance of such hopeful, impassioned lyrics is. Garland also realizes that her original performance of “Over the Rainbow” will always overshadow the true misfortune of her existence. And yet, the performer in her knows that the show must go on. I find it difficult not to cry with her every time I see this video.