During an interview with writer Studs Terkel, Yip Harburg told that “I was relieved when the crash came”. He also told Studs that he always detested being in business. In this article we will discuss why was Yip Harburg relieved when the stock market crashed.
He was so passionate about his creativity i.e. writing songs and poems that when recession came he got the me time that he wanted and found his calling.
Harburg, unlike many others who feared the Depression, actually embraced it as an opportunity to fully dedicate himself to the craft of songwriting.
In his view, the economic downturn gave him the ideal circumstances to devote all his time and energy to composing songs.
Just before the crash, Yip Harburg had renewed a contract with Ira Gershwin, one of the best-known lyricists in the USA.
Gershwin is known to have introduced Yip Harburg to Jay Gorney who quit his career in Law to pursue songwriting.
Later Gorney and Harburg created songs and the collection was known as Earl Carroll’s Sketchbook.
How do Harburg’s words reflect the experience of many Americans during the Great Depression?
During Depression Harburg was interviewed when one of the songs he wrote(Brother can you spare a Dime) became a sensation of the era.
He emphasizes with American businesses as he along with many others thought that they can continue to hold on to their possessions forever. They were therefore shocked when depression took a toll on them.
It was because of this that Harburg went on and wrote some great songs. This is why Yip Harburg was relieved when the stock market crashed.
Who was E.Y Harburg?
E Yip Harburg was the son of a Jewish immigrant couple living in New York.
Later he became the co-owner of an electrical appliance company which was doing good, but when the great depression hit it went bankrupt and was shut down.
This loss became a great gain for the American music industry. He has contributed to many great songs including It’s Only a Paper Moon”, “April in Paris”, “Over the Rainbow” and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”.
Many such songs were featured in the film The Wizard of Oz in the year 1939. He was also elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972.
Yip Harburg family
His mother gave birth to 10 children but only 4 of them survived. His parents name was Lewis Hochberg and Mary Ricing. Harburg met his lifelong friend Ira Gershwin at Townsend Harris High School.
Later Harburg married and had two children and this is when he started writing light verse for the newspapers. He later became the co-owner of a consolidated electrical Appliance company but later in the crash of 1929, the company went bankrupt and Harburg was left in debt of $50,000-$70,000.
This is when he started writing songs pursuing his passion for writing poems and songs.
What are some of the most famous songs written by Yip Harburg?
There are many songs written by Yip Harburg but few became everlasting:
- Somewhere over the rainbow
- Brother can you spare a dime
- If I Were King of the Forest
Somewhere over the rainbow lyrics
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That’s where you’ll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can’t I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can’t I?
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That’s where you’ll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can’t I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can’t I?
FAQs
Who wrote the lyrics to over the rainbow?
Yip Harburg wrote the song Over the Window.
Hi there, my name is Shivani and I’m the founder of Fuelcoin and co-founder of Thefinanceopedia. I created this blog to share my knowledge and experience in cryptocurrency, banking, personal finance, and the stock market, and to help others build wealth.
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