Scott's Articles
"What a Wonderful World"
Several months ago, my wife asked me to listen to a medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” by a singer named Israel Kamakawiwo`ole. His song brought tears to my eyes. I had to learn what else he had sung.
Who was this Israel? . . .
“Brudda Iz” as he was known in his native Hawaii, died at thirty-seven from complications related to his obesity. I wasn’t the only person who wanted to know who he was - there were hundreds of references to him on the internet, and many web sites dedicated to him. Iz was not a superstar, most people have never heard of him, but the sites and memorials dedicated to his memory reflected how much he had touched people - all over the world. People who had heard him sing.
I bought one album he recorded before he died. His music was a beautiful and very odd mixture: a Sumu-wrestler sized Hawaiian with a less-than-perfect voice, playing a ukulele and singing Judy Garland/Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong songs like an angel. A man who loved to listen to country, reggae (Caribbean) and Hawaiian music.
When Iz died, it effected the whole of Hawaii. He lay in state for days in the Rotunda beneath the dome of the Capital building in Honolulu. Twenty-thousand people lined up to pay respects and grieve for the man whose songs carried them into a more beautiful world.
Perplexity. Very few years ago, traveling the world meant steam ship. Not long before that - schooner or canoe. Yet people from all over the world had congregated in Honolulu, and since then on the internet, to pay homage to a man who relished music that he would never have had the opportunity to hear a mere hundred years ago. A man whose voice then reached back to touch us with his own special and unique creations, fashioned from so many other cultures.
My Swedish grandparents settled in a polish neighborhood in Philadelphia in the late 20’s. My neighborhood near NYU in Manhattan was Ukrainian - complete with grocer and orthodox Cathedral, and just north of Little Italy and Chinatown. At the Olympic games in 1996, I loved listening to the small bands from other countries that played in the streets around Centennial Olympic Park - from South America, Africa, Europe. . . Not too many years ago, Atlanta’s multiculturalism was limited to a few ethnic restaurants. We are now, truly, an international city and community - rich with diversity. As
Henry Grady said, “We have raised a Brave and Beautiful city.”
We are that Brave and Beautiful city. And world.
Brudda Iz sang the words of George Weiss and Bob Thiele:
“The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands saying, “How do you do”
they're really saying, “I - I love you”
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
they’ll learn much more than we'll know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”
- Scott Nilsson
Post Script:
Complete lyrics of Iz's version of the medley follow below, although they can't begin to do it justice. Find a copy of the soundtrack of Finding Forrester - it will be worth it. Brudda Iz also released many albums in his brief life and career, available online or at your local record store...
Artist Kamakawiwo`ole Ole' Israel (Brudda Iz)
Album: Soundtrack - Finding Forrester
Song Title: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops is where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?
Well I see trees of green and red roses too,
I'll watch then bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white
And the brightness of day
I like the dark and I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying, I...I love you
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more than
We'll know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Someday I'll wish upon a star,
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops is where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?
~ Scott Nilsson
Atlanta, Georgia - USA / 2nilssons.com
Copyright © 2002 by Scott Barricks Nilsson - All Rights Reserved
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