"Come Out, Come Out" is a song featured in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum's classic children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The song was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg.
Background[]
In the film, Glinda the Good Witch, played by Billie Burke, sings the song to the Munchkins to coax them out of hiding and celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the East. The song serves as a joyful introduction to the colorful and whimsical land of the Munchkins, following Dorothy's arrival in Oz. It is a crucial part of the sequence that introduces the audience to the Munchkinland. As Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) lands in the magical land of Oz, her house inadvertently kills the Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, then calls the Munchkins out to witness the event and meet Dorothy, who sings about her experience of arriving in Oz.
Lyrics[]
Glinda:
Come out, come out wherever you are
And meet the young lady who fell from a star
She fell from the sky, she fell very far
And Kansas she says is the name of the star
Munchkins:
Kansas she says is the name of the star
Glinda:
She brings you good news, or haven't you heard
When she fell out of Kansas a miracle occurred!
Dorothy:
It really was no miracle
What happened was just this:
The wind began to switch, the house to pitch
And suddenly the hinges started to unhitch
Just then the witch, to satisfy an itch
Went flying on her broomstick thumbing for a hitch
Male Munchkin:
And oh, what happened then was rich
Munchkin Girls:
The house began to pitch, the kitchen took a stitch
It landed on the wicked witch in the middle of a ditch
Which was not a healthy situation for the wicked witch!
Munchkins:
The house began to pitch, the kitchen took a stitch
It landed on the wicked witch in the middle of a ditch
Which was not a healthy situation for the wicked witch
Who began to twitch, and was reduced to just a stitch
Of what was once the wicked witch!
Munchkin 1:
We thank you very sweetly
For doing it so neatly
Munchkin 2:
You've killed her so completely,
That we thank you very sweetly
Glinda:
Let the joyous news be spread
The wicked, old witch at last is dead!
