Earliest Over the Rainbow Lyrics To Go On Display

The Library of Congress has acquired rare music and lyric sketches from composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E.Y. 'Yip' Harburg, best known for their collaboration on the score of The Wizard of Oz in 1939. 

The archive includes 35 manuscript items from Arlen and Harburg’s creative work including the first handwritten drafts of music and lyrics from some of the songs from the film The collection also includes draft song lists and correspondence from the director of the film Mervyn Leroy. 

The highlight of the collection is the only lyric sketch for Over the Rainbow known to exist. “Some day I’ll wish upon a star + wake + find the darkness far behind me,” Harburg scrawled in pencil on a scrap of yellow legal paper. This was perhaps the start of his creative process for a song that won the Oscar for best original song.

Additional highlights include: 

• three pages of music sketches for the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• music manuscript of Off to See the Wizard
• lyrics for the Lollipop League song
• lyric sketches for Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
• music sketches for the Mayor of Munchkin Land
• seven pages of music sketches of preliminary concepts labeled 'Oz possibilities'
• the Academy Award that Harold Arlen received in 1939 for best original song for Over the Rainbow

The material joins the Harold Arlen Collection, donated by Arlen’s sister-in-law, Rita Arlen. That collection includes a musical sketchbook, a large notebook of music and lyric sketches for the musical House of Flowers (1954), hundreds of photographs and Arlen’s original typescript screenplay for The Wizard of Oz.

In addition to film-related materials, the new acquisition includes a rare self-portrait of composer and pianist George Gershwin dated 1929 that was sent to Arlen by Gershwin himself. 

“Harold Arlen's contributions to The Wizard of Oz have profoundly shaped American culture," said Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, acting chief of the Library’s Music Division. "The donation of these manuscripts and papers represents a treasured addition in conjunction with our various Oz-themed holdings. This gift not only honors Arlen and Harburg’s imaginative genius but also preserves the legacy of the music that has captured the hearts of generations. The Library is grateful to the late Mrs. Arlen and the Arlen family for sharing these artifacts with the American people.”

A small display will be featured in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building that features original music and lyric manuscripts from the creation of The Wizard of Oz and Wicked beginning in October. These document the creation of the soundtracks to the films inspired by Frank L. Baum’s classic novel which turns 125 in 2025. This display will be on view from October 23 through January 7, 2026.