No two songs have ever been merged so beautifully as in Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s medley “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ What a Wonderful World” when the song was first released in 1990. The relaxing Hawaiian melody and heartfelt lyrics sweep away even the largest of troubles.

    Originally adapted from Louis Armstrong’s 1967 song “What a Wonderful World” and 1939 song by Judy Garland, “Over the Rainbow” in the movie The Wizard of Oz, Kamakawiwo’ole transformed the simple instrumental beat into one solely his own. The medley was first recorded in 1998 by Big Boy Records and in 1993 by Mountain Apple Company; by 2004 reached #12 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Tracks and ever since been a well-known song featured in many movies and television shows such as Charmed, 50 First Dates, and Meet Joe Black, just to name a few.

The song soothes and deepens. Using only a Ukulele and his voice Kamakawiwo’ole speaks the language of the soul, body and mind which reaches every mood whether it be happy or sad. The three-and-a-half-minute song retains a stillness in its tone that can be heard like the gentle ocean waves that move just enough to sway but not overpower. It’s the perfect balance and a taste of Hawaiian paradise.

“He has a really nice voice, it's relaxing,” said Eduardo Ruiz, senior and Band member and “he plays the ukulele well.”

    With the combination of two original songs being rolled into such an inspiring melodic masterpiece it's even more surprising that the lyrics would hold such powerful meaning as well, but yet they do. The beauty felt in the feeling of being up so high “somewhere over the rainbow” in a place where worries soar over the things that once puzzled or troubled you with sights that stem only from “dreams that you dreamed of once in a lullaby,” where you ponder the journey of freedom. Yet as the song continues it goes to show that the awes of life not only lay in what rests beyond but also what wonder can be found in the moments of the present. Is it to “see trees of green” or “see skies of blue” that makes life so precious? Or maybe it the “people [and time] passing by?” Perhaps the song questions whether it is all the moments that together make up this “wonderful world.”

 Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s 1990 medley “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ What a Wonderful World” presents a piece of art that has the power to influence and shape, as the words flow off such a gifted tongue in a harmonious tune which we can all understand.

Today in 2017 and looking back at such an influential song, it is awe-inspiring to see that Kamakawiwo lives on in his work.