Dorothy’s Aunt Em and Uncle Henry were gray and gaunt, stripped of color by the Kansas sun and wind. They never smiled and did not know what joy was. When Dorothy looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Perhaps the only colorful thing she had ever seen was the rainbow—that magical bridge to a place she yearned for, where troubles reveal themselves to be insubstantial nothingness and dreams come true. Her story, her great adventure in Oz, reveals in the end that she had the power to live those dreams all along.

Judy Garland, “Over the Rainbow,” from the film The Wizard of Oz, written by Harold Arlen & E. Y. Harburg, 1939.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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