<P> "Over the Rainbow" is a ballad, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg . It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz and was sung by actress Judy Garland, in her starring role as Dorothy Gale . It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland's signature song, as well as one of the most enduring standards of the 20th century . </P> <P> About five minutes into the film, Dorothy sings the song after failing to get Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the farmhands to listen to her relate an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto, and the town spinster, Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton). Aunt Em tells her to "find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble". This prompts her to walk off by herself, musing to Toto, "Some place where there isn't any trouble . Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be . It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train . It's far, far away . Behind the moon, beyond the rain ...", at which point she begins singing . </P> <P> The song is number one on the "Songs of the Century" list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts . The American Film Institute also ranked the song the greatest movie song of all time on the list of "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". </P> <P> The very first artist to record the song was actually big band singer Bea Wain, but MGM prohibited the release until The Wizard of Oz (1939) had opened and audiences heard Judy Garland perform it . </P>

The meaning of the song somewhere over the rainbow