Yip Harburg

"The first thing we’re looking at here is an expression really of Yip’s philosophy and background, which he brings to writing lyrics for the songs. And what it says here is that songs have always been man’s anodyne against tyranny and terror. The artist is on the side of Humanity."

"As the writer of the lyric of the song ‘God’s Country’, I am outraged by the suggestion that somehow I am connected with, believe in, or am sympathetic with Communist or totalitarian philosophy."

"No matter how high or great the throne, What sits on it is the same as your own."

"WHERE and WHEN Are lost in space. THERE and THEN Do not embrace. So before we disappear Come sweet NOW and kiss the HERE."

"Lives of great men all remind us greatness takes no easy way. All the heroes of tomorrow are the heretics of today. Socrates and Galileo, John Brown, Thoreau, Christ, and Debs Heard the night cry down with traitors, and the dawn shout "Up the reds!""

"I am a rebel by birth. … I contest anything that is unjust, that causes suffering in humanity. My feelings about that are so strong, I don't think I could live with myself if I weren't honest."

"I am one of the last of a small tribe of troubadours, who still believe that life is a beautiful and exciting journey with a purpose and grace which are well worth singing about."

"No matter how much I probe and prod, I cannot quite believe in God; But oh, I hope to God that He Unswervingly believes in me."

"And only God who makes the tree Also makes the fools like me. But only fools like me, you see, Can make a God, who makes a tree."

"My heart is like the willow That bends, but never breaks. It sighs when summer jilts her, It sings when April wakes. So you, who come a-smiling With summer in your eyes, Think not that your beguiling Will take me by surprise. My heart's prepared for aching The moment you take wing. But not, my friend, for breaking While there's another spring."

"You’re out of the woods You’re out of the dark You’re out of the night Step into the sun, step into the light, Keep straight ahead For the most glorious place On the Face of the Earth Or the sky. Hold onto your breath Hold onto your heart Hold onto your hope, March up to the gate And bid it open."

"To let a fool kiss you is stupid, To let a kiss fool you is worse."

"Life is short, short, brother! Ain't it the truth? And there is no other Ain't it the truth? You gotta rock that rainbow while you still got your youth! Oh! Ain't it the solid truth?"

"On the day I was born, Said my father, said he I've an elegant legacy waiting for ye. Tis a rhyme for your lips And a song for your heart To sing it whenever the world falls apart. Look, look, look to the rainbow Follow it over the hill and stream Look, look, look to the rainbow Follow the fellow who follows a dream."

"How are things in Glocca Morra? Is that little brook still leaping there? Does it still run down to Donny cove? Through Killybegs, Kilkerry and Kildare?"

"So I ask each weepin' willow And each brook along the way, And each lad that comes a-whistlin' Tooralay How are things in Glocca Morra This fine day?"

"The Lord made Adam, the Lord made Eve, he made ‘em both a little bit naive."

"When I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near."

"When the idle poor Become the idle rich You'll never know just who is who or who is which."

"Once I built a tower up to the sun Brick and rivet and lime Once I built a tower, now it's done Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"

"I never knew the charm of spring Never met it face to face I never knew my heart could sing Never missed a warm embrace 'Til April in Paris. Whom can I run to? What have you done to My heart?"

"Say, its only a paper moon Sailing over a cardboard sea But it wouldn't be make-believe If you believed in me."

"Without your love It's a honky-tonk parade Without your love It's a melody played in a penny arcade. It's a Barnum and Bailey world Just as phony as it can be But it wouldn't be make-believe If you believed in me."

"Somewhere over the rainbow, Way up high There's a land that I 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."

"Some day I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where troubles melt like lemondrops Away 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?"

"Follow the yellow brick road."

"We're off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was."

"Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?"