INSTEP Magzine

Over the Rainbow
The Wizard of Oz
'Over the Rainbow' was featured in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Written by E.Y. Harburg and composed by Harold Arlen, it was basically used to showcase Judy Garland's singing talents.
In the film, Garland's character Dorothy breaks into song when her dog Toto bites her neighbour Mrs Gulch, played by Margaret Hamilton, who also plays the frightening Wicked Witch of the West in the film. Dorothy senses her neighbour's anger and fears she will take some kind of harsh action. With everyone around her too busy to listen to her fears, Dorothy sings 'Over the Rainbow', expressing her desire to be in a better place, where "troubles melt like lemon-drops."

The song was originally cut from the film as the head of MGM felt it slowed the film down and was sung by the star "in a barnyard." However Harold Arlen and the executive producer of the film lobbied for the film to be reinstated in the film, which it was. It was a smart move, as 'Over the Rainbow' went on to top the Songs of the Century list compiled by Recording Industry Association of America. It was adopted by the American troops during the World War II as a symbol of America:

"Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue/ And the dreams that you dare to dream/ Really do come true".
'Over the Rainbow' has been covered by a variety of artists over the decades including Tori Amos, Ray Charles and Barbara Streisand. A version even appears in The Rise of Dr Phibes, by Vincent Price, the horror legend.

Piano Sonata No. 14 "Quasi una fantasia"
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven would have never dreamt that his beautiful piano sonata would come to represent the ultimate stalker's song in Asian horror someday. But a stalker's signature song it does become, in 2002 South-Korean film Phone.
'Piano Sonata No 14' was completed in 1801 and dedicated to Beethoven's pupil Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, whom he had been in love with. Beethoven includes the words "Quasi una fantasia" (almost a fantasy) in the title as the composition doesn't follow the traditional sonata pattern. It is popularly known as the 'Moonlight Sonata', after poet Ludwig Rellstab compared the first movement of the sonata to moonlight falling on Lake Lucerne.

The sonata makes an appearance in Phone, when journalist Ji-won moves into a new house where she can hear someone play the 'Moonlight Sonata' every night. As the story unravels, the importance of the tune becomes apparent, with it being played as the theme to a married man's affair with a teenager and then as the teenager's mobile phone ringtone.


Jeepers Creepers Louis Armstrong "Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get them peepers/ Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those eyes." Louis Armstrong's character writes this song in the film Going Places, for his racehorse Jeepers Creepers. 'Jeepers Creepers' the song though, takes on a more ominous meaning when played throughout Jeepers Creepers the film. The version used in the 2001 horror film was an instrumental by Paul Whiteman and his Swing Wing. The film is peppered with constant references to the song; the Creeper, this film's monster, is seen whistling the song as he loads bodies into his truck and a psychic warns the protagonists of the film that one of them will die while the song is being played. 'Jeepers Creepers' is a jazz standard; meaning that it is widely acclaimed, performed and recorded. Another popular version of the song is by Frank Sinatra. The song is used in the finale of Jeepers Creepers, when we see one of the characters, eyeless, as the song plays in the background.

Just Like a Woman Bob Dylan Though this song isn't a part of the film, it is alluded to in the book Carrie, the main character with pyrokinetic powers. Carrie, with her Christian-Scientist mother, bad skin and other appearance issues is the typical social outcast. She scribbles the lines "Nobody has to guess/ That baby cant be blessed/ Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest, compulsively in her notebook." 'Just Like a Woman' was released in 1966 on the album Blonde on Blonde and is said to be about Edie Sedgwick, Warhol factory pin-up girl. Sedgwick is rumoured to have had a fling with Dylan. She died of a drug overdose in 1971 which when held up against the words: "With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls," makes sense. The song could also have been about Dylan's relationship with folksinger Joan Baez.
Bob Dylan has performed this song more than any other and it has been covered by Rod Stewart and Roberta Flack. Otis Redding however, whom the song was originally written for, refused to sing it, objecting to the "fog, amphetamine and pearls" lyrics. A very music-friendly Al Gore (who had also adopted 'You Can Call Me Al' as his campaign song) replied to a couple of questions in the Rolling Stone by singing a few lines from 'Just Like a Woman'.