I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of the Wizard of Oz – it’s just a bit weird and kitsch for me – I know there are many that love it. So this song never made much impact on me – until I heard one of the many amazing covers. Eva Cassidy did a wonderful version – but it’s the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version (recorded in one take in 1988) which helped me re-discover this song – and incidentally, the ukulele.
I think this song did more to help folks take the ukulele seriously than any other song – it’s just beautiful!
It’s not particularly difficult, you’ll just need C, Em, Am, F and G – with a brief E7 in the intro and outro – but you will need a rock solid and incredibly sensitive strumming hand pattern.