<Tr> <Th> Lyricist (s) </Th> <Td> E.Y. Harburg </Td> </Tr> <P> "Over the Rainbow" is a ballad composed by Harold Arlen with 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 . </P> <P> About five minutes into the film, Dorothy sings the song after failing to get Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the farm hands to listen to her story of 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 "Over the Rainbow" and Kansas scenes were directed by the uncredited King Vidor . The song was deleted from the film after a preview in San Luis Obispo because MGM chief executive Louis B. Mayer and producer Mervyn LeRoy thought it "slowed down the picture" and sounded "like something for Jeanette MacDonald, not for a little girl singing in a barnyard". But the song was returned to the film due to the persistence of associate producer Arthur Freed and Roger Edens, who was Judy Garland's vocal coach and mentor . </P>

Meaning behind the song somewhere over the rainbow
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