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If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution. but his songs are sung by millions around the world we take a journey through the life and work of Yip Harburg the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?” and who put the music into The Wizard of Oz the movie that inspired the hit Broadway musical and now Hollywood blockbuster Born into poverty on the Lower East Side of Manhattan Harburg always included a strong social and political component to his work Harburg was blacklisted and hounded throughout much of his life about the music and politics of his father Then we take an in-depth look at The Wizard of Oz and hear a medley of Harburg’s Broadway songs and the politics of the times in which they were created Can You Spare a Dime?” may well be a new anthem for many Americans The lyrics to that classic American song were written by Yip Harburg He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era Yip Harburg used his words to express antiracist He’s best known for writing the lyrics to The Wizard of Oz the movie that inspired the hit Broadway musical and now the Hollywood blockbuster film Wicked Yip Harburg also had two hits on Broadway: Bloomer Girls a kind of immigrants’ anthem about race and class and so much else we pay tribute to Yip Harburg’s life Ernie Harburg is Yip’s son and biographer He co-wrote the book Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz?: Yip Harburg I met up with Ernie Harburg at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts at Lincoln Center years ago when they are exhibiting Yip Harburg’s work ERNIE HARBURG: The first place is business about words you have “This is Gershwin’s song,” or “This is” — they usually say the composer’s song “This is Yip Harburg’s song” or “Ira Gershwin’s song.” Both of them would be wrong So I’m going to talk about Yip’s lyrics and then lyrics in the song Now the first thing we’re looking at here is an expression really of Yip’s philosophy and background which he brings to writing lyrics for the songs And what it says here is that songs have always been man’s anodyne against tyranny and terror The artist is on the side of humanity from the time that he was born a hundred years ago in the dire depths of poverty that only the Lower East Side in Manhattan could have when the Russian Jews got up out of the Russian shtetls and ghettos and the courageous ones came over here and settled in that area and he quoted Bernard Shaw as saying that the chill of poverty never leaves your bones And it was the basis of Yip’s understanding of life as struggle AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go back to how Yip got his start and he used to go to the Tompkins Square Library to read and the librarians just fed him these things And he got hooked on every one of the English poets He always has a little great ending on the end of each of his songs they had them sitting in the seats by alphabetical order so Yip was “H” and Gershwin was “G” who was very shy and hardly spoke with anybody “Do you like those?” And they got into a conversation “Do you know there’s music to that?” And Yip said which was on 2nd Avenue and 5th Street which is sort of upper from Yip’s poverty at 11th and C because Ira was intensely interested that thing Then Ira went on to be one of the pioneers who developed the American Musical Theater that Ira’s first show with George Gershwin AMY GOODMAN: The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess in 1940 ERNIE HARBURG: Yip’s career took a kind of detour came and Yip was a socialist and did not believe in the war he took a boat down to Uruguay for three years That’s shades of 1968 and the Vietnam War AMY GOODMAN: And why didn’t he believe in World War I deep-dyed socialist who did not believe that capitalism was the answer to the human community and that indeed it was the destruction of the human spirit and he went into the electrical appliance business and all the time hanging out with Ira and George and Howard Dietz and Buddy De Sylva and writing light verse for the F.P.A Conning Tower And the newspapers used to carry light verse not two or three now owned by two people in the world when the crash came and Yip’s business went under and he was about anywhere from $50,000 to $70,000 in debt He repaid the loans for the next 20 or 15 years Ira and he agreed that he should start writing lyrics AMY GOODMAN: Let’s talk about what Yip is most known for: Finian’s Rainbow We are in the gallery of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and there’s an exhibition called “The Necessity of Rainbows,” which is the work of Yip Harburg And we are looking at the lead sheet of “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?” which came from a revue called Americana which was — had a political theme to it: at that time You have to remember what the Great Depression was all about “One-third of the nation are ill-clothed ill-housed and ill-fed,” that’s exactly what it was There was at least 30% unemployment at those times but Broadway was reduced to about 12 musicals a year from prior But the Great Depression was deep down a fact of life in everybody's mind And all the songs were censored — I use that loosely — by the music publishers They only wanted love songs or escape songs so that in 1929 you had “Happy Days Are Here Again,” and you had all of these kinds of songs There wasn’t one song that addressed the Depression Yip was asked to write a song or get the lyrics up for a song which addressed itself to the breadlines which he had brought over with him when he was 8 years old from Russia And Jay had — somebody else had lyrics for it: “Once I knew a big blonde and I’ll take the tune?” All right you’ll see he started out writing a very satiric comedic song was going around giving out dimes to people and he had a — Yip had a satiric thing about “Can I share my dime with you?” You know other images started coming out in his writings and the whole thing turned into the song that we know it now because that’s where a lot of the action is It won’t be as good as Bing Crosby or Tom Waits AMY GOODMAN: When was this song first played I think Roosevelt and the Democratic Party really wanted to tone it down and keep it off the radio because playing havoc with trying to not talk about the Depression not only “Happy Days Are Here Again,” but “Two Chickens in Every Pot,” and so forth Nobody wanted to sing about the Depression either the only song that addressed itself seriously to the Great Depression which nobody wanted to talk about and nobody wanted to sing about on our journey through Yip Harburg’s life with his son Ernie talks about how Yip Harburg wrote the lyrics to The Wizard of Oz the movie that inspired the hit Broadway musical Wicked and now the Hollywood film by the same name When they were — when Yip and Harold Arlen were called in to do the score of The Wizard of Oz it was Yip who had this executive experience in his electrical appliance business and also had become a show doctor you would call somebody and try to fix it up He had an overview of shows and he had an executive talent he was always what they called a “muscle man” in a show And he’d already worked with Bert Lahr in a great song “The Woodchopper’s Song,” and — Bert Lahr and most of these people were from vaudeville and burlesque but he actually worked with Bert Lahr in this light — Walk a Little Faster and another revue but he and — Yip and Arlen gave Bert songs to sing which allowed him to satirize the opera world And Yip also worked with Bobby Connolly as a choreographer in the early '30s on his shows who was also the choreographer for The Wizard of Oz and Mervin LeRoy had nothing to do with it because he had never done a musical before so it became a vacuum in which the lyricist entered the first thing he suggested was that they integrate the music with the story which at that time in Hollywood they usually didn’t do They’d stop the story and sing a song That you integrate this — Arthur Freed accepted the idea immediately Yip then wrote — Yip and Harold then wrote the songs for the 45 minutes within a 110-minute film The munchkin sequence and into the Emerald City and on their way to the wicked witch because they wouldn’t let them do anymore AMY GOODMAN: Why wouldn’t they let them do anymore ERNIE HARBURG: Because they didn’t understand what he was doing Yip also wrote all the dialogue in that time and the setup to the songs and he also wrote the part where they give out the heart And there was eleven screenwriters on that wrote his own lines and gave the thing a coherence and a unity AMY GOODMAN: Who wrote The Wizard of Oz originally Baum was an interesting kind of maverick guy who at one point in his life was an editor of a paper in South Dakota And this was at the time of the populist revolutions or revolts because the railroads and the Eastern city banks absolutely dominated the life of the farmers and they couldn’t get away from the debts that were accumulated from these And Baum set out consciously to create an American fable so that the American kids didn’t have to read those German Grimm fairy stories where they chopped off hands and things like that But it had this underlay of political symbolism to it that the farmer — the scarecrow was the farmer but he really wasn’t; he had a brain And the tin woodman was the result — was the laborer in the factories he was totally reduced to a tin man with no heart And the cowardly lion was William Jennings Bryan who kept trying — was a big politician at that time promising to make the world over with the gold standard and the wicked witch was probably the railroads So it was a beautiful match-up here with Frank Baum and Yip Harburg the word “rainbow” was never once mentioned The word “rainbow” is never once mentioned in the book And the book opens up with Dorothy on a black-and-white world when they got to the part where they had to get the song for the little girl They hadn’t written the song for Judy Garland who was a discovery by one of Yip’s collaborators And nobody knew the wonder in her voice at that time Larry Hart and the others thought that the composer should create the music first they were both locked into — the lyricist and the composer were locked into the storyline and the character and the plot development So they both knew that at this point there was a little girl in trouble on the Kansas City environment and that she yearned to get out of trouble So Yip gave Harold what they call a “dummy title.” It’s not the final title but it’s something that more or less zeroes in on what the situation is all about and what — this little girl is going to take a journey So Yip gave him a title: “I Want to Get on the Other Side of the Rainbow.” This is a 12-year-old girl wanting to be somewhere over the rainbow It isn’t Nelson Eddy!” And I got frightened “I don’t — let’s save it But don’t — let’s not have it in.” Well “Can you play it a little more in a pop style?” And I played it “Now we have to get a title for it.” I didn’t know what the title was going to be And when he had [sings] dee-da-dee-da-da-da-da “I want to be somewhere on the other side of the rainbow.” And I began trying to fit it: “On the other side of the rainbow.” When he had a front phrase like daa-da-da-da-da — now if you say “eee,” you couldn’t sing “eee-ee.” You had to sing “ooooh.” That’s the only thing that would get a — and I had to get something with “oh” in it So the sound forced me into the word “over,” which was much better than “on the other side.” and you will hear fairy tales and lullabies then Harold started the thing off with an octave jump: “Somewhere” — OK and Yip had no idea what to do with that octave jump ERNIE HARBURG: And Harold was a great composer So Yip wrestled with it for about three weeks and you’re ready to take that journey It’s a story of a little girl that wants to get out the rainbow was the only color that she’d see in Kansas Yip put in something which makes it a Yip song “And the dreams you dare to dream really do come true.” You see And that word “dare” lands on the note and it’s been generating courage for people for years afterwards ERNIE HARBURG: That’s the way that the whole score came MGM’s answer to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and of about 10 major critics at that time when The Wizard of Oz came out when television first started saturating the nation — I don’t think they even had their money back from the show And it hit the top of the — it broke out every single record there was and it’s been playing every year since then and finding a home is a universal story for everybody And that’s an American kind of a story And Yip and Harold put these things into song AMY GOODMAN: Who did the munchkins represent And that’s they way they were — it came on in the book There are societies of people who meet and discuss the books there’s even a society for the winkies which are the guards around the wicked witch’s AMY GOODMAN: Was the book a little bit more favorable to the winkies there’s hardly any relationship between the two All these lines from the film have entered the American language in a way that people don’t even know where they came from looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Or wherever you are,” which in the ’70s started taking on this line started meaning different things ERNIE HARBURG: So the songs keep growing with the times AMY GOODMAN: How did Yip feel in the late 1950s when people started hearing it all over the world he and Harold both said that they did not know what depth and strength that that song “Over the Rainbow” had The Witch Is Dead” is a universal liberation when some tyrannical owner of an airlines company stepped down all the employees started singing “Ding “We’re Off to See the Wizard” was sung by troops marching son of the blacklisted lyricist Yip Harburg as we continue on our tour through the life of lyricist Yip Harburg with his son Ernie Harburg Yip Harburg wrote the lyrics to The Wizard of Oz the movie that inspired the hit Broadway musical and now Hollywood blockbuster Wicked ERNIE HARBURG: We’re walking through the gallery here at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts which has “The Necessity of Rainbows,” dedicated to the works of Yip Harburg And we’re now looking at the various exhibitions And while we’re looking for Finian’s Rainbow Yip conceived and co-wrote the script and put on a show called Bloomer Girl who was an actual suffragette in 1860 who stood up and invented pants Maureen McGovern does “Right as the Rain” in a great way Lena Horne does “Eagle and Me,” which was the first song on Broadway that wasn’t a blues lamentation about the black-white situation Yip managed to get his philosophy into his show which was the second truly integrated American musical after Oklahoma AMY GOODMAN: You mean Blacks and whites playing in the cast AMY GOODMAN: Let’s find Finian’s Rainbow ERNIE HARBURG: Here’s Cabin in the Sky which is the first all-Black Hollywood film in the '40s “Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe.” Here's Bloomer Girl that I’m talking about INTERVIEWER: You got into political trouble in this country at a time when a lot of people got into political trouble were they actually going through your lyrics with a fine-toothed comb looking for lines that might be subversive that might show Yip Harburg’s true political colors which Ethel Waters sang and was part of the situation in the picture Here was a poor woman who had nothing in life except this one man “It seemed like happiness is just a thing called Joe.” found in this lyric that “Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe” was a tribute to Joe Stalin the blackest and darkest moment in the history of this beautiful country here we are at Finian’s Rainbow at last who was his co-script writer — and Harold Arlen demurred from writing this because he felt that Yip was too fervent in his political opinions and he wanted — Harold wanted to do something else So Yip got Burt Lane and then came out with this great “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” etc But the theme of Finian’s was a total fantasy and it was an American fable in which an Irishman and his daughter come from Ireland search around and find Rainbow Valley in “Missitucky.” OK And he believes that if he plants the crock of gold because there’s Blacks and whites living together And they claim that Finian’s daughter is a witch and they’re going to burn her at the stake and all sorts of incredible things that say something about the American scene But the score was so great that people who see it do not see it as a socialist tract which the only one on Broadway; they see it as a very very entertaining musical and unique in American musicals and this was just conceived by Fred Saidy and Yip as a satiric send-off on American society “When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich,” how are you going to know who is who or who is which Finian’s Rainbow has become a classic it’s interesting that Finian’s has not had a tour But they play it in every single high school in the United States three or four times a month in every state of the union when the Cold War was beginning and the House Un-American Committee was starting up Yip had been blacklisted from any chance to do any of the wonderful shows that they did in Hollywood And then he was blocked from going into radio and into TV So — and this is an historical fact which Yip himself says — Broadway and the American theater in New York City was the only place where an artist could stand up and say whatever he wanted provided he got the money to put the show on because they said it was a commie red thing And his next show was Jamaica with Lena Horne in terms of Yip’s drive for racial and ethnic equality and that is that Finian’s Rainbow in 1947 was the first show on Broadway where the chorus line consisted of Blacks and whites who danced with each other AMY GOODMAN: What happened to him during the McCarthy era he could not work on any major film that they wanted him to work on from the major studios in Hollywood who was the head of the IATSE union — I’m sorry to say that — was the one who — I’d like to say good things about unions and he terrorized all of the Jewish moguls who were being accused of communism by the House Un-American Activities Committee and they yielded to whatever he said to them out of fear that they would get branded as communists or that they’d boycott the film they called Yip in to do Huckleberry Finn with Burt Lane And you can’t hire him.” And then Yip went away you can’t hire him.” And the same thing for radio and TV “blacklist,” which wasn’t — that wasn’t the first use of the term because in small towns we had company corporations going if you did something that the company didn’t like that a blacklist was national and accompanied by a loaded word “communist,” that could get you fired anyplace There were people whose lives were just ruined who was one of the Hollywood Ten who were first picked out by the House Un-American Activities Committee to go to jail for a year “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” You know AMY GOODMAN: How long couldn’t Yip work for ERNIE HARBURG: For about from 1951 to 1962 And it’s a cult animated cartoon now And I remember him putting on a show at the Taber Auditorium AMY GOODMAN: But that means that The Wizard of Oz made it big during the time that he was blacklisted That was — and when you consider the social commentary that it was making but I don’t think hardly anyone knows the political symbolism underneath The Wizard of Oz it’s a thing that happens in Finian’s Rainbow “It’s the only socialist tract ever on Broadway,” all right People don’t hear the political message in it like “When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich” and “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?” caused a great deal of furor during a period in Hollywood when a fellow by the name of Joe McCarthy was reigning supreme they got something up for people to take care of us And in order to overcome the enemy list — what was the enemy list that you were a bluenose; and the other one I thought the rainbow was a wonderful symbol of all these lists In order to overcome the enemy list and this rainbow that they gave me the idea for And that does it for today’s program which was actually produced for radio in 1996 with Errol Maitland and Dan Coughlin Dante Torrieri and Buffy Saint Marie Hernandez the public transport provider Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH) IAV and eVersum are developing an autonomous e-shuttle service called 'ahoi' for public transport in the southernmost part of the city The project will begin in the second half of 2025 initially with five vehicles and gradually increasing to up to 20 autonomous vehicles will operate in the Hamburg borough of Harburg which lies on the southernmost banks of the Elbe river delta The ‘ahoi’ project (which stands for Automation of the Hamburg On-Demand Service with Integration into Public Transport) builds on existing on-demand shuttle bus services called “hvv hop” shuttles These have been very successful in Hamburg and most particularly so in the borough of Harburg where public transport services do not adequately cover all areas The project ‘ahoi’ aims to gradually eliminate the need for a driver in shuttle bus services The partners cite one of the needs driving the project as being the lack of skilled workers to staff public transport services in Germany For the ‘ahoi’ autonomous shuttle bus service in the southernmost borough of Harburg eVersum will provide its modular eShuttle from in the 6.90-meter-long version with 9 seats and additional space for a wheelchair or stroller Managing Director of eVersum explained: “After the first successful deployments of such semi-autonomous vehicles in Mannheim and Friedrichshafen we are very much looking forward to working with vhh.mobility and IAV to get as many passengers as possible to their destinations safely and comfortably.” Managing Director of vhh.mobility explained we will begin test operations with safety drivers on board and no passengers in the second phase of the ‘ahoi’ project.” He said that as soon as all requirements have been developed to the satisfaction of the partners “We will then open scheduled operations with the autonomous vehicles for our passengers in the Harburg service area in phase 3 – and this in addition to the manually controlled hvv hop shuttles.” iav.com I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013. As the industry's leading trade media, we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology. With news, background information, driving reports, interviews, videos and advertising messages. People around the globe have been watching the blockbuster musical film “Wicked” this holiday season as a misunderstood and bullied child who goes on to challenge authority and expose wrong-doing long before streaming platforms and video on demand television audiences dependent on just a few major broadcast networks had to wait for the annual chance to see The Wizard of Oz The much-anticipated special broadcast would typically air between Thanksgiving and Christmas attracting millions of viewers across the country This shared cinematic tradition popularized the fantastic tale of Dorothy The film also brought global acclaim to its musical score, with iconic songs like “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” and the world-renowned classic, “Over the Rainbow.” Less well-known is the writer of the lyrics to those songs: E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. In an era of rising authoritarianism growing inequality and an ascendant billionaire class and his own struggle to overcome poverty during the Great Depression and then blacklisting during the McCarthy era – even as “The Wizard of Oz” gained fame – serve as both an inspiration and a warning Yip Harburg was born in 1896 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side to poor Jewish parents who fled the anti-semitic pogroms of eastern Europe along with so many others he was seated alphabetically next to Ira Gershwin They began a friendship that lasted a lifetime and shaped 20th-century American song and culture Yip’s son and co-author of the biography “Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz?,” said in a 1996 interview on the Democracy Now “Yip knew poverty deeply … it was the basis of Yip’s understanding of life as struggle.” Yip Harburg was deep in debt after the 1929 Wall Street crash Gershwin suggested Harburg write song lyrics he wrote the song that captured the essence of the Great Depression Can You Spare a Dime?” which became a national hit and remains a timeless anthem for hard times corporate greed and the dignity of working people: “The Wizard of Oz” was based on the 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L Prior to the commercial success Baum enjoyed from the book including a stint in South Dakota owning the Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer newspaper including two that called for genocide against indigenous people Just days after the Wounded Knee massacre of December 29 women and children on the nearby Pine Ridge Reservation were slaughtered by the US Army “Our only safety depends upon the total extermination of the Indians…wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.” These themes were central to the two Broadway hits Yip wrote which celebrated immigrants and the struggle against racism His lyrics attracted the attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee and U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy who led a deeply destructive “hunt” for communists within the government and leading institutions McCarthy was aided by the red-baiting lawyer Roy Cohn who would later serve as mentor to a young Donald Trump actors and others banned from working in film and television for the duration of the 1950s McCarthy and his anti-communist crusade were eventually discredited and Harburg continued his creative human rights work Yip Harburg’s best-known and most loved work remains his lyrics for “The Wizard of Oz.” The film was released in the tumultuous year of 1939 Fascism was on the march in Europe and Asia the economic impacts of the depression still plagued the working class and racist Jim Crow laws oppressed millions of people of color With just weeks from Donald Trump’s inauguration to his second term as president and with a timely focus on challenging authority ushered in by the hit movie “Wicked,” now is a good time to recall the incredible work and lyrical lessons of Yip Harburg the man who put the rainbow in the Wizard of Oz will be celebrated in a noon concert December 14 at the 92nd Street YM-YWHA (92Y) in New York City Hosted and performed by cabaret singer Harvey Granat with accompaniment from pianist David Lahm the concert will also examine the politics of Harburg (1896–1981) a leftist who spent time on the Hollywood blacklist whose songbook also includes hits like “Brother Can You Spare a Dime” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” Harburg’s “Over the Rainbow” (written with composer Harold Arlen) was listed as number one on the Songs of the 20th Century list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts Special guests at the concert include Ernie Harburg, the lyricist’s son, and his wife Deena Rosenberg, cultural and music historian, author of Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin and founding chair of the musical theatre program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts They will explore how the lyricist—full name Edgar Yipsel Harburg—addressed such issues as racial and gender equality and union politics in his work Harburg wrote lyrics for two dozen Broadway musicals and the 1931 and 1934 editions of the Ziegfeld Follies The 92Y event is the third and final concert of Granat’s fall 2017 Songs & Stories series of shows focusing on Hollywood and Broadway songwriters Previous concerts celebrated Richard Whiting and Cole Porter 92Y is located on Lexington Avenue between 91st and 92nd streets in Manhattan. Tickets for The Lyrics of Yip Harburg concert cost $29, and can be ordered by clicking here SEE WHAT YOUR FAVORITE STARS ARE UP TO AWAY FROM BROADWAY WITH PLAYBILL UNIVERSE! The Tony-winning Best Musical continues at the Walter Kerr Theatre Students at this Georgia school are providing a professional-looking production for their community and George Clooney will also be celebrated at the June ceremony House Seats: Mandy Gonzalez in Concert recently premiered on ALL ARTS Waitress and & Juliet star Wolfe will lead the stage show about Miracle Mop inventor and businesswoman Joy Mangano The Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical will play a limited engagement at the outdoor Los Angeles venue Maltby will also direct the new revue at the Connecticut venue Thank You!You have now been added to the list Blocking belongson the stage,not on websites Our website is made possible bydisplaying online advertisements to our visitors Please consider supporting us bywhitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.Thank you Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox and more info about our products and services © 2025 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Division of NBCUniversal Data also provided by As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches families across the country will gather around the television and watch one of America’s beloved films “The Wizard of Oz.” However there is much to be told about the message of this classic beginning with its Oscar-winning lyricist Edgar Yipsel Harburg Harburg co-wrote the tune “Over the Rainbow” with Harold Arlen for the film He was also the final script editor and made significant contributions to the dialogue But less well known is that “Yip” Harburg was a socialist and was blacklisted during the McCarthy period He was raised in poverty on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and the two began a friendship that lasted a lifetime helping to shape 20th century American song and culture Harburg’s nickname “Yip” derives from “Yipsel.” He was called “Yipsel” because that is how people pronounced “YPSL” – the acronym for the Young People’s Socialist League of which Harburg was a member Harburg spent three years in Uruguay to avoid involvement in World War I poet and book-writer who understood the struggles of working people and dedicated his life to social justice and fighting against poverty Many recall Harburg as Broadway’s social conscience Can You Spare a Dime,” the song that captured the essence of the Great Depression and the reality of millions struggling to get by The song became a national hit and remains an anthem for difficult times The lyrics represented the sentiments of working people: “Once I built a railroad Once I built a railroad; now it’s done who was cultural editor of this newspaper’s predecessor says “The Wizard of Oz” was based on the atmosphere of the times “The book was written by a socialist and the fable highlights some of society’s contradictions of that period,” Bonosky “The Wizard of Oz” was in many ways a metaphor for what was happening in reality In a 2006 interview with Amy Goodman on “Democracy Now,” Harburg’s son Ernie Harburg said “Wizard of Oz” was about common people confronting and defeating seemingly insurmountable and violent oppression and the Munchkins of the “Lollipop Guild” were the union members There was at least 30 percent unemployment at those times Among African Americans and minorities it was 50-60 percent “While academic debate persists over whether Baum intended the story as a political allegory about the rise of industrial monopolists like John D Rockefeller and the subsequent populist backlash there is no doubt that Harburg’s influence made the 1939 film version more political.” Bonosky said “Wizard of Oz” offers an alternative history of that period “It’s kind of like an unknown part of our history,” he said “It’s a very profound part of the American past and its messages could really educate younger generations.” Harburg went on to write “Finian’s Rainbow” for Broadway The musical is now having a successful revival there It addresses themes that are highly topical today anti-immigrant prejudice and mortgage foreclosures In 1947 the musical was the first Broadway show with an integrated cast It became a hit and ran for a year and half The musical had three major revivals (1955 and was also made into a film starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark Harburg was a victim of the Hollywood blacklist when movie studio bosses blacklisted industry people for suspected involvement or sympathy with the Communist Party USA Harburg was banned from TV and film work from 1951 to 1962 CBS broadcast “The Wizard of Oz” on television and it broke all viewership records Altogether Harburg wrote the lyrics to over 600 songs with a variety of composers Many of his songs have expressed the universal hope for change and a better life for working people in hard times Those messages have renewed resonance today in the midst of the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression Harburg was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp recognizing his accomplishments Saving bourgeois democracy in ‘Mickey 17’: Less about class struggle than... Vanishing act: The culture wars make small Michigan towns smaller ‘George’: Soprano Sonia Yoncheva’s first recital album celebrates the life of... ‘Sinners’ review: Horror, history, and Black American folklore combine for trailblazing cinema  Amidst capitalist crisis and war, Russian Communists struggle against Putin and the oligarchs Chickens coming home to roost: Remember what Malcolm said U.S. imperialism’s new Cold War against China fosters anti-Asian racism at home Don’t eat that onion dip! FDA recall could balloon to biggest in history Deena Rosenberg Harburg, daughter-in-law of the late lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, has been named president of the Yip Harburg Foundation She was previously executive vice-president and artistic director of the Foundation Yip Harburg (1896-1981) is best known as the lyricist for The Wizard of Oz and Finian’s Rainbow Ernie Harburg cited his age as the reason for his retirement Previously the foundation's artistic director Deena Rosenberg Harburg is founder and chairperson emeritus of the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program and author of Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin and The Music Makers She is also co-author with Ernie of two forthcoming books: We’re Off to See the Wizard: Yip Harburg a collection of the 100 best lyrics by Yip Harburg; and Somewhere Over the Rainbow—Yip Harburg the latter to be available in 2019 (the 80th anniversary of the film The Wizard of Oz) The Yip Harburg Foundation (yipharburg.com) was created after the lyricist’s death to carry on his legacy and to promote educational opportunity Can you Spare a Dime?” and “Over the Rainbow.” According to the Foundation “Yip fought for social and economic justice for all people throughout his life.” The Foundation's educational initiatives include Arts in Education programs of many kinds including Musical Theater programs in under-served public schools to excite literacy and self-expression an ensemble whose participants range in age from 8 to 40 Heart and Nerve” educational initiative is a sustainable education-through-the-arts project introducing children to the values of Musical Theater positive self esteem and character building.” but not before introducing Rosenberg to his son recommending her as someone with "impeccable taste." Ernie became a widower that June and after traveling for a year Ernie subsequently co-authored "The Broadway Musical" (1993) with Deena Rosenberg's father who was at the time an editor of Dissent Magazine he also co-authored a biographical book on his father "Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz?," which was published around the same time as Deena's book on the Gershwins Deena has also adapted a one-hour version of Finian's Rainbow which will be distributed by Music Theatre International worldwide and a new one-hour musical version of The Wizard of Oz The Yip Harburg Foundation is “a non-profit organization whose purpose is to spread Yip Harburg's artistic legacy aimed at creating a world of free and equal people... equal educational opportunity and learning through musical theater.” LOVE BROADWAY? CHECK OUT PLAYBILL STORE FOR MERCHANDISE! The fan convention has also announced a panel on queer representation in theatre with L Morgan Lee and Roger Q The Broadway favorites will be joined by Peloton's Christine D'Ercole and Leading Lady Fitness' Steph Wilberding and Beetlejuice are among the spotlighted shows Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg was born Isidore Hochberg in New York City on April 8 Harburg would become one of America’s most popular song lyricists whose many successes included Over the Rainbow and other beloved tunes from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz When the United States Postal Service issued a 37¢ commemorative stamp honoring Harburg on April 28 it showed the smiling songwriter along with his lyrics to his familiar composition: “Somewhere over the rainbow In a press release prepared for the stamp issuance the United States Postal Service noted that “Harburg wrote the lyrics for more than 600 songs for theater and film He wrote for many of his era’s greatest entertainers Harburg also worked with some of the great composers of his day, including Jerome Kern and Harold Arlen and he was close friends with Ira Gershwin With Jay Gorney he wrote the Depression-era standard Brother In 1947 he collaborated with Burton Lane and Fred Saidy on the Broadway hit Finian’s Rainbow Connect with Linn’s Stamp News:  Patti Harburg-PetrichPrincipal and US Aviation Sector Leader LEED AP BD+C serves as principal and US Aviation co-lead for Buro Happold Two significant projects under her leadership are the concept validation for the new Replacement Passenger Terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport and the new Midfield Satellite Concourse South at LAX both of which have sustainable design ambitions Harburg-Petrich recognizes the opportunity to drive financial and physical resilience through sustainability at airports and is helping her airport clients make meaningful commitments to sustainable development through strategies such as net zero energy and carbon neutrality Harburg-Petrich has been exploring the use of offsite construction techniques for large volume projects she has experience leading teams for many building types in addition to aviation Return to Index. Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative According to the American Film Institute’s list of Top 100 Movie Songs “Over the Rainbow” is number one known by millions of people all over the globe The Witch Is Dead,” which got a sudden burst of airplay in the UK upon the news of Margaret Thatcher’s demise (“Yip”) Harburg was born April 8 on New York’s impoverished Lower East Side to immigrant Russian Jewish parents In his youth he found the teeming life of the theater a more satisfying environment than his parents’ religion Debuting one month before the 1932 presidential election Can You Spare a Dime?” became a huge national hit Some historians credit that song with helping Franklin D As a successful lyricist for Broadway and Hollywood he often embedded social messages into his songs “I am a rebel by birth,” Yip said The pretty ballad “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” from “Cabin in the Sky” landed Harburg in big trouble during the McCarthy years HUAC believed he was making propaganda for Joseph Stalin Although a frequent supporter of liberal causes “There were so many new issues coming up with Roosevelt in those years,” he said “and we were trying to deal with the inherent fear of change – to show that whenever a new idea or a new change in society arises there’ll always be a majority that will fight you that will call you a dirty radical or a red.” The wildly successful “Finian’s Rainbow,” produced in 1947 with music by Burton Lane was a searing socialist attack on capitalism and racial inequality and enjoyed a smash run of 725 performances on Broadway the 1965 “Rhymes for the Irreverent” and “At This Point in Rhyme” in 1976 He also wrote a “Birthday Song” honoring the 15th anniversary of the Marxist publication Monthly Review in 1964 Still working as he approached his 85th birthday and knew that there is a place in the human heart where “dreams really do come true.” The 2005 U.S. postage stamp commemorating Yip Harburg has the familiar words: “Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue….” The 1993 biography, “Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz? was written by Harold Meyerson and Yip’s son Ernie Harburg. For more information contact the Yip Harburg Foundation at www.yipharburg.com Adapted from “The Theater Was His Temple” by Dan Barker published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation Barker is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation His musicianship and songwriting are featured in the foundation’s CDs “Beware of Dogma” and “Friendly Neighborhood Atheist.” People’s World is a voice for progressive change and socialism in the United States and for the labor and democratic movements to our readers across the country and around the world People’s World traces its lineage to the Daily Worker newspaper Amanda Simpson: trailblazer for equality Father Nate Harburg's great-grandfather was the popular American song lyricist and librettist who co-wrote the 1939 musical film The Wizard of Oz along with composer it was Yip Harburg who penned the words to the song Yip Harburg was also an ardent critic of religion and a signatory of the Secular Humanist Manifesto So how did his great-grandson end up becoming a priest Father Nate visits Lansing Catholic High School's production of The Wizard of Oz in order to recount the story of his family's journey towards Jesus Christ and His Holy Church Father Nate Harburg is a native of Ann Arbor He is priest of the Diocese of Saginaw where he currently serves as Pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Ubly SIGN UP HERE ContactSign-Up e-newsSitemapOutreach Mass Yip Harburg contributed brilliant lyrics to some of the finest melodies of the American popular song canon Most of his songs were originally written for Broadway shows or Hollywood musicals Finian's Rainbow is probably his most popular stage work but he's best known for working with composer Harold Arlen on music for The Wizard of Oz a collaboration which won them an Oscar for "Over the Rainbow." each putting his or her own stamp on the lyrics of Yip Harburg Here's one of two songs we'll hear that were written for Finian's Rainbow by Harburg and composer Burton Lane but this one features the great Carmen McRae (who shares a birthday with Harburg) playing it fast and loose "Why don'cha fade this mutha?" Featured with McRae are Eric Gunnison (piano) John Collins (guitar) and Mark Pulice (drums) Harburg wrote this one with composer Vernon Duke for a 1932 Broadway show called Walk a Little Faster Though perhaps the most famous version of "April in Paris" is the instrumental by Count Basie vocalist Kurt Elling shows us that a great melody and beautiful lyric are timeless solos are provided by trumpeter Orbert Davis and Elling's longtime collaborator We're back to Finian's Rainbow for Susannah McCorkle's small-group arrangement of "The Begat." Throughout his life Harburg leaned far to the left politically and was blacklisted in Hollywood from the early '50s through the early '60s Harburg was slipping sociopolitical satire into his lyrics as well as a demonstration of his inventive way with rhymes Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney wrote this classic for a 1931 musical called New Americana but it soon became the theme of the Great Depression thanks primarily to Bing Crosby's 1932 recording of the song This wonderful 1986 version features vocalist/guitarist Phil Alvin who had just disbanded his blues/rock/Americana band The Blasters Can You Spare a Dime?" he selected none other than pianist composer and arranger Sun Ra and his Arkestra artists from what would seem to be opposite corners of the American musical map come together to make powerful music This song is Yip Harburg's greatest lyrical legacy a perfect melding of words and music that has staked a claim for immortality Though Judy Garland's version of "Over the Rainbow" is considered definitive the song has been recorded by an amazing spectrum of musicians here's Melody Gardot's Latin-flavored 2009 arrangement of one of popular music's loveliest and most touching songs Become an NPR sponsor In this exclusive interview with CGTN's Wang Guan a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations suggesting significant growth opportunities remain for the country "There is so much greenfield for China still to grow," he notes emphasizing the enormous potential consumer market as urbanization advances and rural populations relocate to major cities he cites the example of Shanghai Disneyland where tickets for the park have been consistently sold out for the last 100 days showcasing the strong demand even amidst the winter season Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466 2013 was an excellent year for auction results RM Auctions are already looking ahead to 2014 One of the first auctions to take place in the new year will be in Paris The first major consignment announced is the Harburg Collection The cars are currently owned by Australian historic racer Peter Harburg His reasons for selling the cars is not known we suspect this isn’t his entire collection Headline lots will include a 1982 Porsche 956 Group C Sports-Prototype chassis number 004 which competed at the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans as one of the three Works cars It completed a historic 1-2-3 for the Porsche 956 that year Another historic Porsche lot included in the auction is one of six Porsche 917/30 designed to compete in the Can-Am championship Its 5.4 litre engine generated around 1,100 brake horsepower in race trim This example is chassis number 005 which never saw racing action It features Sunoco racing livery and an identical €2,200,000 estimate The next Porsche lot is less of a monster than the preceding two The Porsche 904 on offer here is chassis 045 and was imported into the UK by AFN Ltd before being purchased by privateer racer and Works Frazer Nash driver Dickie Stoop This car’s history includes a two-and-half-litre lap record class win and 5th place overall in the Snetterton 100 mile race Harburg is also parting with a Jaguar D-Type This example was the seventh production D-Type made and it was sold new to Australian Bob Stillwell The car competed in the 1956 Bathurst 500 where it set the fastest sports car speed ever before securing a number of other high profile victories including the Bathurst Road Racing Championship A 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider will also cross the auction block Chassis 0498 M was sold new to Luigi Chinetti Motors in the United States The car competed in the fourth annual 12 Hours of Sebring with Piero Taruffi and co-driver Harry Schell behind the wheel It had a successful career in North America before travelling to Australia Harburg will also part with a 1950 ex-Briggs Cunningham/Sebring Aston Martin DB2 it doesn’t quite have the same attraction as the others The car was delivered new to Canada raced in 1950 and uprated for 1951 season with Webers After its racing career ended it was stored in a barn it was restored with hundreds of trim parts custom fabricated The Paris auction takes place on 29 January to 2 February 2014 We’ll be sure to bring you the results and website in this browser for the next time I comment Kiyan and Diego are joined by Ben to discuss life at Cadiz before and after Ben’s arrival and how American owners are affecting the European football landscape On this Patron-only episode of the Churros y Tácticas Podcast Kiyan Sobhani and Diego Lorijn are joined by Ben Harburg to discuss: Co-host and chief editor of the Managing Madrid Podcast and bring a unique and fresh perspective to Spanish football Do you enjoy this podcast? Become a patron and earn rewards for as little as $3 / month! Patreon.com/ChurrosYTacticas Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker © Heiner LeiskaThe façades received a special treatment In the existing building it was only necessary to refurbish the timber windows and insert three-storey-high entrance elements on the northern and southern elevations on the central tract as the brickwork of the elevations was largely intact and only required minor repairs the glass façades of the new buildings received a very different treatment: vertical aluminium tubes and stainless steel cables have been installed in-between deep steel U-profiles The seemingly irregularly placed tubes and the steel cables in the intermediate spaces spell “Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg” when read in Morse code You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email You knew The New York Public Library For The Performing Arts at Lincoln Center had that great theatre collection and that special archive of shows preserved on videotape But did you know about their theatre-oriented exhibitions Recently profiled on Channel 13's "City Arts" program English-born costume maker Barbara Matera and her husband which designed and executed costumes for such Broadway productions as Follies Matera creates her gowns directly on the figure -- including such figures as Meryl Streep She's also designed opera costumes for Joan Sutherland The Library's exhibition will show the transformation from concept to costumes featuring the actual stages of construction for an elaborate Norma Desmond outfit worn by Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard 1997: "Scenic Poet Of The Theatre." An exhibition highlighting Jo Mielziner's sketches and renderings for the theatre a highly influential designer (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof will be discussed by exhibition curator Mary Henderson in a free public program 1997: "From soulful ballads to biting satire Yip Harburg wrote the lyrics for many of America's most haunting popular and theatrical songs ("April In Paris," "Brother Can You Spare A Dime," "It's Only A Paper Moon")." His are the lyrics to the classic songs in "The Wizard Of Oz" and Broadway's Finian's Rainbow In "The Necessity Of Rainbows," the Library traces Harburg's rise from the Lower East Side to Hollywood and examines the way social concerns affected his art." 1997: An exhibit culled from the Hiram Stead Collection -- a huge trove of international theatre memorabilia including an authentic invitation to the coronation of King George IV Early 1997: The Library will host a series dedicated to film and theatre legend featuring playwright Robert Anderson and actresses Patrice Munsel Ongoing is the Library's Reading Room Series 21 with a reading of Albert Innaurato's new play Housing "the world's most extensive combination of circulating reference and rare archival collections in its field," the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has such permanent research collections as the Music Division the Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound -- By David Lefkowitz Gail Kriegel's new play follows a family affected by mental illness. The Tony-winning Best Musical continues at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Noah Himmelstein will direct Matthew Puckett's original musical. Neumann is the Tony nominated choreographer behind Hadestown and Swept Away. Finalists included Cole Escola's Oh, Mary! and Itamar Moses's The Ally. The world premiere opera, based on a play by Gerber, is the second opera by Nottage and Gordon. In the Sondheim revue, one Tony winner is playing the trumpet while the other is channeling Madame Rose. The George Abbott, Douglas Wallop, Jerry Ross, and Richard Adler musical opened May 5, 1955. Due to the expansive nature of Off-Broadway, this list is not comprehensive. Thank You!You have now been added to the list. Blocking belongson the stage,not on websites. Our website is made possible bydisplaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us bywhitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.Thank you! Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world An early investor of Didi Global and MSA Capital Managing Partner Ben Harburg discusses the outlook for Didi after WSJ reported that Chinese regulators are concluding yearlong probes into ride-hailing giant. Harburg speaks to Yvonne Man and David Ingles on "Bloomberg Markets China Open". (Source: Bloomberg) whose work includes Broadway and Hollywood musical scores who died of a heart attack while driving in 1981 understood better than all his famous cohorts the essentially political nature of song This year marks his centenary; in November the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will mount an exhibition devoted to his life and work Harburg belongs in the pantheon of great theatrical lyricists He collaborated with Harold Arlen on the score for "The Wizard of Oz," a contribution overlooked today Arlen called Harburg the Lemon-Drop Kid because he "like[d] things to be joyous and/or poetic." Harburg has labeled the themes of the other great lyricists; the theme of freedom characterizes his own work including "Cabin in the Sky" and "Finian's Rainbow." Two of his songs Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," became global statements Some colleagues were won over by Harburg's idealism; others were put off by his "propaganda." Harburg grew up poor on New York's Lower East Side and worked turning street lamps on and off Harburg's father exposed him to Yiddish theatre and literature returning to set up an electrical-appliance business in Brooklyn and was successful until losing all his money in the stock market crash and decided to become a lyricist: "I gave up the dream of business and went into the business of dreams." Harburg's first collaborator was Jay Gorney Can You Spare a Dime?" They were been inspired by a real man on the street Harburg had great success in Broadway revues "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which won him his Oscar where he co-authored original musicals dissecting injustice in America and Harburg was an enthusiastic writer who made enemies in rehearsal listening to and trying to understand rock music but finding it a reflection of fear and doom; Harburg liked to convey courage and hope He believed that music achieves a haunting long-lasting power through its very invisibility -- much as Harburg has View Article please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot Get the most important global markets news at your fingertips with a Bloomberg.com subscription “Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” That’s how Kermit the Frog opens “The Muppet Movie” (1979), with the words of contemporary singer-songwriter Paul Williams. That question may be aimed directly at Edgar “Yip” Harburg, the legendary lyricist and librettist who places rainbows near the start of two of the most beloved musicals of all time, “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) and “Finian’s Rainbow” (1947). Why, indeed? This Wednesday at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, roughly two dozen singers and musicians, shepherded by masters of ceremonies Andrea Marcovicci and Jeff Harnar, will try to come up with an answer. “Look to the Rainbow: The Lyrics of Yip Harburg” will be the opening night of the 33rd Mabel Mercer Foundation Annual Cabaret Convention. It made sense that Yip Harburg (1896-1981), more than any other songwriter or poet or playwright, was the man who made us believe in the magic of rainbows — and more. He also told remarkably credible stories about witches and wizards, leprechauns and magic spells, enchanted dolls and genies.   If Yip Harburg was the most whimsical of the major lyricists who created the Great American Songbook and modern musical theater — along with Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, and his bestie, Ira Gershwin — he was also, paradoxically, the most down to earth. Over the course of a career that lasted fully 50 years, Harburg often looked to one particular rainbow: the cause of civil rights and social justice for all. He was at once a great cynic and an overwhelming optimist, a card-carrying realist who also held a deep belief in the power of fantasy not only to entertain but to educate and enlighten. He was born Isidore Hochberg on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As an adult, he Americanized his name to Edgar Harburg, but he was always known as “Yip.” His own story was that this derived from the Yiddish word for squirrel, though some scholars have claimed he was actually inspired by the acronym for the Young People’s Socialist League.  Both accounts could be true: He had the cunning, the fast moves, and the restless energy of a squirrel, and was also enough of a social firebrand to give himself the name of a highly controversial political organization. Harburg got started in music and theater somewhat later than his colleagues, he said, because he had the responsibility of supporting his family (especially after the death of his older brother) rather than playing the role of an aspiring artist. He spent the 1930s perfecting his art, writing mostly for revues — one of which introduced his depression anthem “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” — and laying the foundation for the work to come.   His first full-length show with composer Harold Arlen, “Life Begins at 8:40” (1934), also introduced him to Ray Bolger and Bert Lahr, all four of whom would be power players in “The Wizard of Oz.”  Yip could be ferociously dogmatic; Burton Lane, his collaborator on “Finian’s Rainbow,” told me that the only way they could finish that show together was by never speaking to each other. Harburg’s uncompromisingly anti-segregation messaging put him on the right side of history but tragically landed him on the blacklist during the McCarthy era, thus derailing his career for much of the decade.   His last successful show was “Jamaica” (1957), the first-ever Broadway musical centered around an interacial couple, played by Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalbán. For the rest of his life, Yip Harburg kept on reaching for that rainbow; whether he actually ever got there is questionable. As the concert on Wednesday will doubtless underscore, though, we’re all the beneficiaries of his journey. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced Music The entire show was a delight, but one segment really stood out as an emblem to the power and resiliency of American Jews: Ben Platt’s and Judith Light’s performance “Over the Rainbow,” a  song written by two sons of Jewish European immigrants for a movie that came out just two months after Kristallnacht Platt’s rendition of the song is magnificent —  the Dear Evan Hansen star brings a powerhouse performance to every song he sings — but this one is particularly inspired tells the story of Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg born Chaim Arluck — the sons of Jewish immigrants from Europe who escaped the pogroms of Eastern Europe to “a land they only imagined in their dreams.” Yip’s parents were Russian Jews and Harold’s father was a Lithuanian cantor Yip became a famed lyricist and Arlen a celebrated composer and the two together wrote: “Over the Rainbow” for The Wizard of Oz the terrible and vicious Nazi night of looting and destruction of Jewish businesses and synagogues in Germany in November of 1938 “Hear the lyrics in this context and suddenly the lyrics are no longer about wizards and Oz but about Jewish survival,” Light told the viewers of Saturday Night Seder as Platt belted out the moving song head writer Alex Edelman cried all through making this bit from reading the songwriters’ story to listening to Platt’s vocals Reading about Harburg and Arluck writing somewhere over the Rainbow made me cry. Hearing the cuts of @JudithLight reading the monologues made me cry. The photos of Jews immigrating made me cry. The Ben Platt vocals made me cry. Everything made me cry. #SaturdayNightSeder — Alex Edelman (@AlexEdelman) April 12, 2020 Light ends the bit by saying that “throughout his career lyricist Harburg continued to write about justice and liberation The bit is a perfect distillation of the iconic song, and it works perfectly in the context of Passover — a holiday that commemorates the fight for freedom, after all.  “Writing Judith’s monologues took several days and lots of loving argument with Pasek and [composser, lyricist and writer Mark] Sonnenblick [who also worked on the show] over the perfect amount to say,” Edelman wrote on Twitter “Inspiration for it was sourced from several accounts and ruminations on the song’s creation.” It’s easy to understand why creating this bit was a challenge — the biographies of the songwriters are just so rich Harburg grew up in New York’s Lower East Side the family was poor but happy and they all worked for a garment factory but the Jewish value of tikkun olam was always imbued in his work and many of his songs were about social consciousness and justice Can You Spare a Dime?” which became the anthem of the Great Depression and was sang by the likes of Bing Crosby and Tom Waits This incredible song is ever so relevant as we are about to face yet another great financial crisis Harburg was blacklisted during the McCarthy era the darkest moment of this beautiful country,” Harburg He grew up singing at his father’s synagogue in Buffalo and that experience marked him and made him the musician that he was “Pop had a perfect genius for finding new melodic twists,” he told the New Yorker in 1955 and so he was given the name “Chayim,” meaning “life.”  When he changed his name Arlen also composed one of the most uplifting songs ever: “Get Happy,” which he wrote for Judy Garland As it happens, there’s a third son of Jewish immigrants who was involved with the writing of “Over the Rainbow:” lyricist Ira Gershwin.  Born to Russian Jewish immigrants, Gershwin helped workshop the melody and created one of the most memorable parts of the song: the ending: “When Gershwin heard Harburg’s lyrics and he improvised a coda: ‘If happy little bluebirds fly / Beyond the rainbow / Why oh why can’t I?'” The story behind this iconic song — a song that I am guilty of dismissing as cheesy and overplayed (never again!) — is truly awe-inspiring many Jewish men and women had to flee Europe into a land where dreams really do come true and for the creators of “Saturday Night Seder” who reminded us of their greatness and whose talent helped raise millions of dollars May we all dare to dream dreams of justice and equality and freedom Lior Zaltzman is the deputy managing editor of Kveller By submitting I agree to the privacy policy By | 04/23/2009 3:40 pm | 12 Comments Did you know songwriter E.Y. “Yip” Harburg (lyricist of The Wizard of Oz Gay Purr-ee and much else) wrote material for the Max Fleischer studio Harburg historian Nick Markovich of The Yip Harburg Foundation has recently discovered evidence that Harburg lyrics were written for at least three Fleischer cartoons from the 1929-30 period — when Harburg was writing for Paramount-Astoria Studios on Long Island looking for early Fleischer films for research “Harburg was employed by Paramount’s Astoria Long Island studio for a few years starting in 1929 — hence the Fleischer connection For Paramount he wrote lyrics with such composers as Vernon Duke (with whom he later wrote April in Paris for a Broadway revue) and Jay Gorney (with whom he wrote Brother It’s possible that other lyrics or verses he wrote ended up uncredited in other Fleischer cartoons The only way to tell definitively would be to watch every single one of them listen carefully and compare to the dozens of obscure lyric sheets in Harburg’s collection In the last two years alone I have discovered that several Gorney-Harburg songs were performed in two features So who knows what’s out there — either in animated shorts or live action features and featurettes In The Shade Of the Old Apple Tree — A blurb in the January 19 Harburg…composes those captivating lines which make you want to join in with the crowd on Paramount’s Fleischer cartoon singing reels Harburg also apparently provided material to the Screen Song short there is a typewritten lyric sheet by Harburg entitled “Bedtime Story” — a satire of Grimm-type fairy stories that frighten children A handwritten note at the top of this sheet says “Verse for Fleischer picture.” is obviously a first draft for the Bedtime Story broadcast at the end of Radio Riot (1930) Compare the draft below with the finished film (below it) It wouldn’t surprise me if Harburg wrote all the dialogue in the film — it’s quite clever Tonight you shall have the extreme pleasure of listening to Uncle Grim who has a very interesting Bed Time story for you Announcer: You have just listened to a bed time story by Uncle Grim President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals He comes to you every Doomsday evening thru the courtesy of the Sheepshead Bay Fur Co. Bear Skin Coats and Cat Guts for Tennis Rackets This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page the ‘hamburg-harburg technical university’ by german practice gmp architekten is now constructed after a 2 year process ahead its scheduled completion date in hamburg attached to a listed historical red brick structure within the former second world war schwarzenberg barracks two new volumes are clad with glass and screened with U-shaped aluminum tubes and steel cables their staggered vertical displacement spells the name of the university when read in morse code these additions connect the eastern wing back to the building along with a new building to the north which together re-establishes the elevation and complex’s symmetry leading to the encompassing campus of 14 structures this prominent entrance structure also contains an auditorium seminar rooms and a learning and communication center for students exterior is clad with aluminun tubes and glass image © heiner leiska the opened interior maintains a central axis forming a three-storey tall atrium with clear cross-views from the stairwells seemingly random spacing spells the university’s name when read in morse code image © heiner leiska three-storey tall atrium image © heiner leiska competition: 2009 – 1st prize design: meinhard von gerkan and nikolaus goetze associated partner: volkmar sievers project leaders: jan stolte tilmann jarmer design team: martina klostermann knut maass in co-operation with: obermeyer planen und beraten gmbh client: freie und hansestadt hamburg office for science and research gross floor area total: 10,169 m2 gross floor area of existing building/refurbishment: 7,416 m2 gross floor area of new buildings: 2,753 m2 construction period: 2010-2012 AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style