Someday I’ll wish upon a star,
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

In “Somewhere Over the Rainbow (What a Wonderful World)”, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole delivers an extremely powerful vocal with the most stripped-down arrangement you will ever hear. Israel’s voice is accompanied by just a ukulele. The ukulele is not a sexy instrument—you won’t find it on many rock or pop songs, but here it works perfectly. It allows us to concentrate on Israel’s voice and the message.

Another unique aspect of this song is how Iz combines two songs into one—a medley. I can’t think of another instance of this—especially where it is implemented so seamlessly. I suppose this was one of the first mashups—kind of.

The meaning of the song is about escape and hope. There is a yearning for another place, one where our dreams come true; but there is a sadness in the realization that this place might not exist on earth. Some people might greet the realization that happiness is not around the corner with despair. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” will have none of that.

Performing this song honestly is difficult to pull off. It is hard to believe a performer with such a radical vision of tomorrow. Someone who is hopeful of what is essentially the afterlife. By combining these two songs we get an idea of what Iz viewed his heaven would look like: It would keep the beautiful aspects of nature like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and add the brotherly love aspect of “What a Wonderful World”.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (What a Wonderful World) Lyrics

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby, oh.

Somewhere over the rainbow-
Bluebirds fly.
And the dreams that you dream of,
Dreams really do come true-ooh-ooh.
Someday I’ll wish upon a star,
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where trouble melts like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops that’s where,
You’ll find me, oh.

Somewhere over the rainbow,
Bluebirds fly;
And the dream that you dare to,
Oh why, oh why can’t I? I

I see trees of green and red roses too,
I watch them grow for me and you.
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
Blessed skies are blue, I see clouds of white,
And the brightness of day, highlight the dark,
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky,
I also one the faces of people passing by.
I see friends shaking hands saying,
“How do you do”?
They’re really saying “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’ll 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 dream that you dare to
Why, oh why can’t I? I

Songwriters: Harburg E Y / Arlen Harold/ f Claus

I left my home in Georgia
And I headed for the Frisco Bay
‘Cause I’ve got nothin’ to live for
Looks like nothin’s gonna come my way

As you can read above, the narrator left his home in Georgia for San Francisco, and it turns out it isn’t all it was cracked up to be. So now what? He is just going to sit around, hang out and watch the ships and the tide. This is a great song about doing nothing, wasting time and resting your bones. Nothing wrong with that! Though Otis admits, a bit of loneliness does begin to creep in.

This song is probably most famous for its choice of solo instruments…the whistle solo. It fits the theme of the song perfectly. We can imagine Redding chilling on the dock just whistling away. I think the only other song we hear that in is Lennon’s Jealous Guy.

The song sounds simplistic, but it has a couple nuances that make it special. Obviously, number one is Redding’s voice. It is so smooth. The other is the rhythm section of the band. The bass and drums drive the song along at a good pace. I could imagine this song coming out slower, and it would be worse for it. The bassline is fairly complicated and adds a bit of lead instrumentation to the song. When a good bassline can pull this off, it is often a treat.

Sittin on the Dock of the Bay Lyrics

Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes
Watching the ships roll in
Then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the Frisco Bay
‘Cause I’ve had nothin’ to live for
It look like nothin’s gonna come my way
So I’m just gon’ sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay, wastin’ time

Look like nothin’s gonna change
Everything, still remains the same
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I’ll remain the same, yes

Sittin’ here restin’ my bones
And this loneliness won’t leave me alone, listen
Two thousand miles, I roam
Just to make this dock my home
Now I’m just gon’ sit, at the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh yeah
Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

Songwriters: Steve Cropper / Otis Redding

Take a look at my girlfriend/
She’s the only one I got.
Not much of a girlfriend…

I always smile when I hear the above introductory lyrics to “Breakfast in America” by Supertramp. Roger Hodgson is in England with his plain girlfriend (just take a look at her!) and dreams of what it would be like in America. If only he could take a trip to see the girls in California or hang out with all the millionaires in Texas.

As he begins to vocalize his wish he realizes that perhaps he is further away from fulfilling his dream than he thinks and then starts to get possessive of his girlfriend: “She’s the only one I got.” She’s still “not much of a girlfriend” though.

I like these unique songs where the story is very particular to the song, even though the message is  universal.

The instrumentation on this song is great and unique. I hear a clarinet play prominently and an electric piano. Also, the “bass” is played by a trumpet (I think) which gives this such a unique sound. It sounds like a carnival, but it is distinctly a rock song. The harmonies are well done, and the falsettos are tastefully used throughout.

Breakfast in America Lyrics

Take a look at my girlfriend
She’s the only one I got
Not much of a girlfriend
Never seem to get a lot

Take a jumbo across the water
Like to see America
See the girls in California
I’m hoping it’s going to come true
But there’s not a lot I can do

Could we have kippers for breakfast
Mummy dear, mummy dear
They got to have ’em in Texas
‘Cause everyone’s a millionaire

I’m a winner, I’m a sinner
Do you want my autograph
I’m a loser, what a joker
I’m playing my jokes upon you
While there’s nothing better to do

Ba-ba-ba-dow, ba-bow-dum-doo-de-dow-de-dow, de
Ba-ba-ba-dow, ba-bow-dum-de-doo-de-dow
Na na na, nana na na na na

Don’t you look at my girlfriend (girlfriend)
She’s the only one I got
Not much of a girlfriend (girlfriend)
Never seem to get a lot (what’s she got, not a lot)

Take a jumbo cross the water
Like to see America
See the girls in California
I’m hoping it’s going to come true
But there’s not a lot I can do

Ba-ba-ba-dow, ba-bow-dum-doo-de-dow-de-dow, de
Ba-ba-ba-dow, ba-bow-dum-de-doo-de-dow

Hey oh, hey oh, hey oh, hey oh,
Hey oh, hey oh, hey oh, hey oh
Na na na, nana na na na nana

Songwriters: Richard Davies / Roger Hodgson