Sharp Notes Monday: ‘She’s A Rainbow’

By Jandoli Institute on June 5, 2023 • ( 0 )

Was the rainbow flag was inspired by “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a movie classic sung by gay icon Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz?

Not so, according to the man who designed the flag.

“I come from the ’60s, so (the flag’s) more about the Rolling Stones and their song ‘She’s a Rainbow’,” Gilbert Baker said in a 2008 story published in the New York Blade. “That era was a time when people were asserting themselves as artists in the true sense. But, I get the Garland thing, and being from Kansas, I double get it.”

The Rolling Stones included “She’s A Rainbow” on their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request long before the rainbow flag became a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride.

The song was a bit of an anomaly for the band since it departed from the misogynic tone of earlier Jagger/Richard compositions such as “Under My Thumb” and “Stupid Girl.” Instead, the lyrics describe a woman in romantic terms:

Have you seen her all in gold?
Like a queen in days of old
She shoots her colours all around
Like a sunset going down
Have you seen a lady fairer?

Adding to the romantic mood are baroque piano lines by master keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. Putting all the elements together, the song emerges as our Sharp Notes Monday selection for Pride Month,

The rainbow flag is not the only creation to take inspiration from “She’s A Rainbow.” The song has been used in a commercial for Adobe Creative Cloud and in the Apple TV show Ted Lasso.