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There's a reason so many people love 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' A songwriting expert reveals it.

A composer breaks down a simple but fascinating interplay that made this song a classic.

Why did "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" get into our hearts and stay there?

It's not hard to see why "The Wizard of Oz" was a smash hit back in the day. It was one of the first films to use color and had major star power with a young Judy Garland.

But one of the movie's most iconic moments is more about sound than sight, and we're about to look at this song in a way you probably never thought of before.

Get ready for four new revelations about one old song.

"Words make you think thoughts, music makes you feel a feeling, but a song makes you feel a thought."

One man can tell us why this song wedged itself deep in our collective psyches.

This is Rob Kapilow, composer and explainer of deep musical secrets. His gesture is practically inviting us to enter his mysterious world of composer-y know-how. How can we resist? (Image by Peter Schaaf, used with permission.)

PBS Newshour's Jeffrey Brown interviewed Rob Kapilow, a composer who developed a program called "What Makes It Great," which explains why musical pieces effect the responses they do. Why does this song tug at our heartstrings?

1. Kapilow says it just comes down really to two notes at the beginning and then two musical concepts that repeat through the melody.

It's a real "aha" moment:

Jeffrey Brown: "'Over the Rainbow,' right, one of the most — everybody knows this song, but why? What makes us know this song?"

Rob Kapilow, composer: "You know, amazingly, the answer to that starts with the very first two notes. In this famous opening idea, there's really only two ideas. One of them, I call 'leap.' The other one, I call 'circle and yearn.' And it's important."

These are those two opening notes he's talking about (from 0:11-0:15):

2. Then Kapilow goes into more details about the concept of the "leaps" and "circle/yearn."

Those two notes you just listened to were the first example of the leaps. That first one was the biggest. Low ("some") to high ("WHERE"). Those leaps get progressively smaller the next two times — on "way UP" and then again on "there's A." You're singing those to yourself right now, aren't you?

The circle/yearn part is explained as if the low note (a low C) represents her feeling stuck in Kansas and the high note (a high C) represents her belief in a more wondrous place:

Kapilow: "So, you start on a note, you circle back to it, and then you yearn. That's it, circle and yearn. Now, there are three [instances in the verse]…"

Brown: "And the question is, what are we — what is she — yearning for? And at the end, we realize, right?"

Kapilow: " Yes, exactly. She's yearning for high C. She's yearning for high C."

3. Now Kapilow explains the crucial moment in the song where its original composer, Harold Arlen, captured the sense of longing.

Kapilow: "Now, it's really the harmony that makes it so exquisite. You know, Yip Harburg called this a song of yearning. So, here's what she's yearning about. He could easily have written kind of a cheery accompaniment to 'way up high,' like this."

To understand what he means, you really have to hear it — watch the part at 2:50, because it would have absolutely changed the whole feeling of the song.

It's clear that cheery would never do in this context, so the notes Arlen chose really sealed our fate — we were destined to love and relate to this bittersweet song.

4. And then Kapilow goes on to explain how the final leap at the end signifies Dorothy's transformation — which is worth sharing with all your "Wizard of Oz"-loving friends.

He says that the final notes are what brings her to Oz (in her heart) after the wistful circling and yearning in the entire song. He notes how the final line — the part with "happy little blue birds fly" — mimics the melody of the B section ("troubles melt like lemon drops") instead of closing out with the main melody.

Kapilow: "She would have been home, but she would never have gone to Oz. In a beautiful moment — and this is a fantastic moment — Arlen decides to bring back the middle of the song, but in the orchestra. There's a beautiful quote from Yip Harburg, who wrote the words. He said, 'Words make you think thoughts, music makes you feel a feeling, but a song makes you feel a thought.' And you can feel her thinking. Just the orchestra. Then she comes back, just like in the B section, 'If happy little blue birds fly.'"

Judy Garland (singing): "If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can't I?"

Kapilow: "One last rise. 'Why, oh, why,' and where does she finally get to? Oz. From low C to high C, from Kansas to Oz, from reality to fantasy, and her transformation is complete."

Dorothy's song is the first fortuitous sign we get as the movie is getting started that says:

"Hey — this person is going somewhere unimaginable that will change her in wonderful ways."

Maybe that's why we all love it. We all want that for ourselves, too.

If you enjoyed this new way to look at an old song, maybe your Oz-loving (or music-obsessed) friends will, too.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

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Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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grief

There's a reason so many people love 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' A songwriting expert reveals it.

A composer breaks down a simple but fascinating interplay that made this song a classic.

Why did "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" get into our hearts and stay there?

One man can tell us why this song wedged itself deep in our collective psyches.

1. Kapilow says it just comes down really to two notes at the beginning and then two musical concepts that repeat through the melody.

2. Then Kapilow goes into more details about the concept of the "leaps" and "circle/yearn."

3. Now Kapilow explains the crucial moment in the song where its original composer, Harold Arlen, captured the sense of longing.

4. And then Kapilow goes on to explain how the final leap at the end signifies Dorothy's transformation — which is worth sharing with all your "Wizard of Oz"-loving friends.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

Trameka Brown-Berry was looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework when her jaw hit the floor.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

The assignment was real. In the year 2018. Unbelievable.

The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway.

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.