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• 1 2019-11-26T17:39:16-05:00 Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, contributed by Marinna Okawa (2019) 4 plain 2021-04-24T14:52:45-04:00 I had always found it to be a peaceful and happy song, but after we played it for my grandmother's funeral it resonated very differently with me. The lyrics almost feel as if they are being communicated by someone who has passed, as if they are in a much better place - especially the verses: "Where trouble melts like lemon drops/ High above the chimney top/ That's where you'll find me/ Somewhere over the rainbow." 
  
  Furthermore, the artist, Israel, passed about 4 years after this song was released and the video was made by his producer as a sort of tribute. Starting at 2:40 in the video, there's footage of a funeral ceremony for Israel, in which people are jumping in the water as they pour out his ashes from a boat with "Iz Lives" written on the sail. This emphasizes this feeling of the living legacy of those who have passed from the song, almost as if Israel himself is still there, singing beyond the rainbow.
  
  
  Lyrics: 
  
  Ooh, ooh, ooh
  Ooh, ooh
  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
  Someday, I wish upon a star
  Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
  Where trouble melts like lemon drops
  High above the chimney top
  That's where you'll find me
  Somewhere over the rainbow
  Bluebirds fly
  And the dreams that you dare to
  Oh why, oh why can't I?
  Well, I see trees of green and red roses too
  I'll watch them bloom for me and you
  And I think to myself
  What a wonderful world
  Well, I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white
  And the brightness of day
  I like the dark
  And I think to myself what a wonderful world
  The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
  And also on the faces of people passing by
  I see friends shaking hands saying
  How do you do?
  They're really saying I, I love you
  I hear babies cry and I watch them grow
  They'll learn much more then we'll know
  And I think to myself what a wonderful world
  World
  Someday I wish upon a star
  Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
  Where trouble melts like lemon drops
  High above the chimney top
  That's where you'll find me
  Oh, somewhere over the rainbow
  Way up high
  And the dreams that you dare to
  Why oh, why can't I?
  Ooh, ooh
  Ooh, ooh