Javier’s English Corner

Now that the summer will soon be over and that you are all about to resume your English lessons, I have seen fit to get in touch with you again on a mellow tone. I am sure you have heard the following song some time on a movie without knowing who the singer was. It is an interesting medley of “Somewhere over the rainbow”, from the classic musical The Wizard of Oz, and “What a wonderful world”, another beautiful classic by Louis Armstrong.

This medley was created by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, a Hawaiian musician who became famous outside his native state when that song was featured in his 1993 album “Facing future”. Iz, which is the nickname his admirers gave him, suffered from severe obesity throughout the later part of his life, and he died in 1997 at the age of 38. The Hawaii State Flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of Iz’s funeral. His koa wood coffin lay in state at the Capitol building in Honolulu. He was the third person in Hawaiian history to be accorded this honor and the only non-politician. Over 10,000 people attended his funeral. Thousands of fans gathered and cheered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach on July 12, 1997. (From Wikipedia)

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