"We're Off to See the Wizard" is one of the classic and most memorable songs from the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz''. Composer Harold Arlen described it, along with "

The Merry Old Land of Oz "The Merry Old Land of Oz" is a song from the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' and the musical. It is sung by the townspeople of the Emerald City, who are joined at appropriate times by the group of four travelers: Dorothy (with Toto), Scarecrow, ...

" and "

Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is a song in the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz''. It is the centrepiece of several individual songs in an extended set-piece performed by the Munchkins, Glinda (Billie Burke) and Dorothy Gale. Highlighted by the Lol ...

", as one of the "lemon drop" songs of the film. The lyrics are by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. The melody's first appearance begins with the

Munchkins A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in ...

reciting and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

echoing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road!", which turns into a group vocal by the Munchkins (while Garland skips and dances along the road) and then

segue A segue (; ) is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next. The term is derived from Italian ''segue'', which literally means "follows". In music In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the next ...

s into "''You're'' Off to See the Wizard". The song occurs as a vocal three more times in the film soundtrack, along with several short instrumental references in the underscore: # As a duet, sung by

and Ray Bolger # As a trio, sung by Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, and

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

onscreen, but

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

's voice heard instead of Haley's # As a quartet, sung by Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, again Buddy Ebsen's voice, and

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

Although

replaced Ebsen on-screen and in the Tin Man's solo recording of " If I Only Had a Heart", it was deemed unnecessary for the group vocal to be re-recorded, so the voice in the film as released remains Ebsen's. His voice can be detected by listening for the male voice enunciating the "R" in words like "Wizard", as Ebsen's regional accent emphasized the "R" much more strongly than Haley's did. In ''The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs'',

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arrang ...

re-worked the song as (in the words of ''Talkin' Broadway'') "a high-energy, wild Latin dance extravaganza". A popular

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

claims that at the very end of the second reprise of this song, a Munchkin or stagehand or some other person could be seen committing suicide, hanging from a rope. The song was later heard in a few MGM animated cartoons, notably the

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

shorts ''

Professor Tom This is a complete list of the 164 shorts in the ''Tom and Jerry'' series produced and released between 1940 and 2014. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts, one is a made-for-TV short, and one is a 2-minute sketch shown as part of a telethon. ...

'' and ''

The Truce Hurts This is a complete list of the 164 shorts in the ''Tom and Jerry'' series produced and released between 1940 and 2014. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts, one is a made-for-TV short, and one is a 2-minute sketch shown as part of a telethon. ...

''. Alvin and the Chipmunks covered this song for their 1969 album '' The Chipmunks Go to the Movies''. In December 1972,

Eugene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the eleventh human being t ...

sang the song on the surface of the Moon while hopping in lunar gravity.

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

and his male chorus later recorded a single of the song for the children's label

Golden Records Golden Records was a Simon & Schuster record label based in New York City. It was conceived and founded in 1948 by the Grammy Award-winning children's music producer, Arthur Shimkin, then a new recruit in the S&S business department. Shimkin ...

. Singer Anne Lloyd was featured as Dorothy on the song.

References

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External links

Sheet music cover for ''We're Off To See The Wizard''
at the U.S. Library of Congress {{The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) Songs about wizards 1939 songs Songs from The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) Songs with lyrics by Yip Harburg Songs with music by Harold Arlen Songs written for films

See also

References

External links