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I completely blanked on wizard of oz.
But that song doesn't strike me as being very much about rainbows.
(Neither does rainbow connection, upon close inspection, but
its rainbow-ness seems more tightly wound with the subject.)
I've never heard any of the other songs mentioned in that thread,
and imagined there was some vast conspiracy of non-metaphorical rainbow songs
that had been dropped from popular culture, like
Stalin: The Ultimate Rainbow Warrior, or Rainbow Death Camp,
and the only evidence of their having existed is
"so many songs about rainbows"
― kermeet, Friday, 1 July 2005 21:10 (eighteen years ago) link
three years pass...
That is, of course, the immortal first line of "The Rainbow Connection." But what songs exactly did Jim Henson have in mind? There's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," of course. But what else to warrant the song's rhetorical question?
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 25 January 2009 23:04 (fifteen years ago) link
twelve years pass...
The most incredible thing about this thread was me thinking of the titular question a few days ago, coming here to post it, seeing not just that someone else had the same question, but that *I* revived it 12 years ago! Anyway, still can't think of any songs (let alone "so many") about rainbows that preceded "The Rainbow Connection," besides "Over the Rainbow."
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 5 April 2021 13:28 (three years ago) link
Still thinking about this, I found a website that thought about it more than me, with some great comments:
As such, there are likely many more songs about “rainbows” out there which could come under the title of dreams, wishes, inspiration, and the like. To extend this, wishful and inspirational songs could also said to be about rainbows. It would seem that the vast majority of songs would fall under these banners, and the question of “Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” is a question of the human condition and the ways we use to express it.Why do we make wishes and seek to be inspired? If those wishes are granted and our inspirations are gained, what do we achieve? In asking “what’s on the other side” of a rainbow, perhaps Kermit continues to question the human condition by posing the question of whether or not we can ever truly be satisfied.
Kermit may also be alluding to even darker aspects of the human condition. Whilst rainbows are beautiful in their intangibility, it is only from specific angles and conditions that they are visible. A rainbow then is a rare occurrence and is ultimately an illusion. If dreams and inspirations are the same, what does it say about one of the finer things about humanity? Why do we chase such things if they can never be caught?
Clearly Kermit thinks too much. It’s not easy being green.
And
I’ve always been fascinated by the chorus.“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.”
Note that Kermit is excluding himself from both groups. Obviously he isn’t a lover yet, as he hasn’t met Miss Piggy. And he is also not yet a dreamer. In about two minutes Dom Deluise is going to show up and inspire him to go to Hollywood. So what rainbow is he singing about for himself?
The third verse makes it clear. Dreamers are people who desperately want something, be it greatness or fame or to cure people. At the opening of the movie, Kermit doesn’t want to do anything but sit on his log and play his banjo and catch flies. But Fate has a plan for him. The Universe needs him, because the Universe needs The Muppets and whether he wants to look for a rainbow or not, the rainbow is looking for him.
Which is why finding fame brings him happiness, instead of the misery it seems to inflict upon so many of those who actively seek fame and success. Kermit never needed it in the first place. He cares more about making sure his friends succeed with him than himself. He would never leave to pursue a solo career.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 8 April 2021 14:05 (three years ago) link