Yip Harburg

Edgar Yipsel "Yip" Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg, Yiddish: איסידור הוכברג‎; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," "April in Paris," and "It's Only a Paper Moon," as well as all of the songs in The Wizard of Oz, including "Over the Rainbow." He was known for the social commentary of his lyrics, as well as his liberal sensibilities. He also championed racial and gender equality and union politics.

Early life and career

Harburg, the youngest of four surviving children (out of ten), was born Isidore Hochberg on the Lower East Side of New York City on April 8, 1896. His parents, Lewis Hochberg and Mary Ricing, were Yiddish-speakingOrthodox Jews who had emigrated from Russia.

Isidore later adopted the name Edgar Harburg, and came to be best known as Edgar "Yip" Harburg. He attended Townsend Harris High School, where he and Ira Gershwin, who met over a shared fondness for Gilbert and Sullivan, worked on the school paper and became lifelong friends. According to his son Ernie Harburg, Gilbert and Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw taught his father, a "democratic socialist, [and] sworn challenger of all tyranny against the people, that 'humor is an act of courage' and dissent".

Harburg

Harburg may refer to:

Locations

People

Harburg, Bavaria

Harburg is a city of around 6,000 inhabitants on Bavaria's Romantic Road with one of the most impressive remaining medieval castles in Germany. It is in the Donau-Ries district.

The castle was first mentioned in 1150 and has never been seriously damaged by war. Unlike many other German castles which were built in the last 200 years or rebuilt after World War II, Harburg Castle retains the feel of the Middle Ages. Singer Michael Jackson called it "the castle of my dreams", and tried unsuccessfully to buy it.

The village itself is quaint with many footpaths and a historic stone bridge.

A rare historic Jewish cemetery is another point of interest.

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External links

Harburg (district)

Harburg is a district (Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the town of Harburg upon Elbe, which used to be the capital of the district but is now part of Hamburg. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Lüneburg, Heidekreis, Rotenburg and Stade, by the City of Hamburg and the State of Schleswig-Holstein (District of Lauenburg).

History

In 1885 the Prussian government established three districts in this region: the District of Harburg, the District of Winsen and the district-free City of Harburg upon Elbe. In 1932 the districts of Winsen and Harburg were merged; the City of Harburg-Wilhelmsburg (which had been merged in 1927) became the capital of the district, although it remained district-free and hence was not a part of the district.

In 1937 the City of Harburg-Wilhelmsburg was incorporated into the City of Hamburg with the Greater Hamburg Act. Harburg and Wilhelmsburg became two boroughs of Hamburg. The District of Harburg remained with the State of Prussia and retained its autonomy. Winsen upon Luhe became the new capital of the District in 1944.