Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World

Nickie · Feb 9, 2015

You have a great voice! Nice job with the 8 string!

Canada Jim · Feb 9, 2015

Lovely job, but you have copied Iz's version including the mistakes.
Iz had a lovely voice and I loved his playing and singing, but I wish he'd taken the trouble to learn the right words. For some reason folks who learn this medley also use his incorrect words which don't make sense.

Canada Jim · Feb 9, 2015

Bob Thiele & George David Weiss wrote Wonderful World. Iz got most of this right.
Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg wrote Over The Rainbow.
These are the correct words as written by the composers, with the corrections to Iz's mistakes in italics.
I didn't change Iz's minor mis-quotes where they didn't change the meaning or the rhyme, only the glaring mistakes.

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
There's a land that I dreamed of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't I?

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

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't I?

Well I see trees of green and red roses too,
I'll watch them bloom for me and for you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The brightness of day, the darkness of night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on 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 than we'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And 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

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't I?

Canada Jim · Feb 10, 2015

Google found me this exerpt from an article on Iz

Ukulele player Israel Kamakawiwo’ole's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow has achieved cult status.

For the past eight weeks, the biggest-selling song in Germany has been a cover version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow by a ukulele-playing Hawaiian named Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. But any new fans hoping to see him perform will be as disappointed as the song's publisher, who heard the version a few years ago, realised the lyrics were wrong, and asked Leah Bernstein at the Mountain Apple record label if she could ask him to re-record it.
"Well, I'd really love to," Bernstein replied, "but he's dead."

geetee · Feb 12, 2015

Great cover of the Iz version, Daniel. Glad you included both the lyrical and musical mistakes. Iz took a song that opens with what was arguably the most famous octave leap in popular music and begins instead with a seventh. Kinda made it his. Considering that his version has over 175 million views on YouTube, it does make sense that people tend to repeat his mistakes today. But then again, maybe it wasn't a mistake. Maybe he did it that way on purpose.

Canada Jim · Feb 13, 2015

His musical variation is certainly no mistake. It was his way of making it his own song and it sure worked. Musically, I feel his song is as close to perfection as you can get.

Sabantien · Feb 21, 2015

Perhaps the lyrics being different was more to do with an interpretation rather than a mistake. If we are to be perfectly correct, then each song should be played separately.

Good playing and singing, but didn't like the echoey sound you had going on. Unaltered would be far better.

igorthebarbarian · Feb 26, 2015

surprisingly good vocals!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World

Nickie

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Canada Jim

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Canada Jim

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Canada Jim

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geetee

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Canada Jim

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Sabantien

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igorthebarbarian

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