The Merry Old Land Of Oz
Encyclopedia
"The Merry Old Land of Oz" is a song from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
and the musical
. It is sung by the townspeople of the Emerald City
, who are joined at appropriate times by the group of four travelers: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion.
The verse of the song suggests that the people of the city do no actual work, since they "get up at twelve, and start to work at one, take an hour for lunch, and then at two we're done". Their actions contradict that funny sentiment, however, as they are clearly doing plenty of work to "freshen up" the group of four to go see their desired person of the hour.
The revelers' laughter is interrupted by the Wicked Witch of the West
, who is circling over the city, skywriting
with her broom, ordering the citizens to "SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE". In the final cut of the film, the words "OR DIE" were dropped from the film as being too strong for the presumably young audience of the time.
This musical number was parodied in the VeggieTales
episode The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
and the season 4 Family Guy
episode Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High.
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
and the musical
The Wizard of Oz (2011 musical)
The Wizard of Oz is a musical based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The adaptation is by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams. The musical uses all of the Harold Arlen and E. Y...
. It is sung by the townspeople of the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, who are joined at appropriate times by the group of four travelers: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion.
The verse of the song suggests that the people of the city do no actual work, since they "get up at twelve, and start to work at one, take an hour for lunch, and then at two we're done". Their actions contradict that funny sentiment, however, as they are clearly doing plenty of work to "freshen up" the group of four to go see their desired person of the hour.
The revelers' laughter is interrupted by the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, who is circling over the city, skywriting
Skywriting
Skywriting is the process of using a small aircraft, able to expel special smoke during flight, to fly in certain patterns to create writing readable by someone on the ground...
with her broom, ordering the citizens to "SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE". In the final cut of the film, the words "OR DIE" were dropped from the film as being too strong for the presumably young audience of the time.
This musical number was parodied in the VeggieTales
VeggieTales
VeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
episode The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's is the 33rd episode in the VeggieTales series, and was released on DVD on October 6, 2007 in Christian Bookstores and on October 9, 2007 in other stores. It is based on the parable from the Bible, The Prodigal Son, and a parody of The Wizard of Oz film adaptation...
and the season 4 Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High.