Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead Lyrics - Wizard Of Oz, The

Song Overview

This 2011 London Palladium cut stitches the Munchkinland sequence together with the bite-size classic that everyone knows by title. On record, the moment moves briskly - wind-swept recitative into a parade chant - with Danielle Hope’s Dorothy and Emily Tierney’s Glinda guiding the townsfolk from shock to celebration. It is Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg’s craft dressed in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s glossy West End tailoring.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. A medley from The Wizard of Oz 2011 London Palladium production, performed by Emily Tierney and Danielle Hope.
2. Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg; album produced under the Andrew Lloyd Webber revival banner.
3. Released May 9, 2011 as part of the cast album for the London show.
4. Connects narrative recitative in Munchkinland to the brisk celebratory chant of “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead.”
5. Part of a long lineage - from the 1939 film to later pop chart flare-ups and notable covers.

The arrangement keeps the original’s call-and-response bones but adds modern theater sheen: tight vocal stacks on the “Ding-dong” refrain, a rhythm section that nudges the tempo forward, and clear diction riding on top of a bright orchestral bed. Tierney’s Glinda floats announcements with crystalline vowels; Hope’s Dorothy grounds the story beats, then lets the chorus loose. The punch comes from Harburg’s playful internal rhymes and list-juggling - a gymnastic tour the cast rides without over-selling it.

Creation History

The 2011 West End revival refreshed the film score with new Webber-Rice material around it, but this track sticks close to Arlen-Harburg. Nigel Wright’s studio polish favors clarity - choral parts sit forward, percussion is crisp, and the transition from spoken-sung narration into chorus lands clean. Onstage, the sequence functions as the first technicolor jolt in Oz: the stage swells with Munchkin voices, then pivots to the brisk town-hall legality bit that comic-opera fans relish.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Dorothy’s house has crash-landed in Oz. Glinda introduces her to the Munchkins, who realize the Wicked Witch of the East has been crushed. The town erupts, then immediately pauses to certify the event - mayor, judge, coroner - before breaking into a public celebration. The sequence closes with a jolt of fear as the surviving sister arrives.

Song Meaning

It’s civic relief set to a parade beat. The townspeople sing not just joy but release - fear lifting after long pressure. Harburg’s humor makes it safe to celebrate something dark, and the mock-bureaucratic interlude suggests a community learning to trust itself again. Musically, the piece blends recitative, patter, and choral chant - a little operetta, a little vaudeville - turning collective catharsis into catchy ritual.

Annotations

The cast album keeps key text bites that reveal character and tone:

“Come out, come out wherever you are”

Glinda as herald - soothing cadence, soft consonants. The harmony underneath thins out to let the invitation bloom.

“It really was no miracle - what happened was just this”

Dorothy demystifies the myth. The delivery is matter-of-fact, a practical voice walking into a world of ritual and superstition.

“As Coroner, I thoroughly examined her”

The mock-legal roll call is classic Harburg - civic theater as comedy. The patter rhythm tightens, snare and woodwinds tagging the punch lines.

Genre and style notes

Style fusion: operetta patter, Broadway chorus writing, and a marching pulse that never turns heavy. Emotional arc: uncertainty - verification - exuberance - shock. Cultural touchpoints: 1939 film musical tradition; later re-readings in pop culture where the chorus becomes a shorthand for the toppling of a tyrant.

Key Facts

• Artist: Emily Tierney, Danielle Hope, Nigel Wright, Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Featured: London Palladium company voices as Munchkins
• Composer: Harold Arlen
• Lyricist: E. Y. Harburg
• Producer: Nigel Wright; Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Release Date: May 9, 2011
• Genre: Pop - Musicals
• Instruments: Orchestra, rhythm section, chorus
• Label: Polydor in the UK; later U.S. issue via Decca Broadway
• Mood: Triumphant, comic, civic
• Length: Medley - typically around 2 to 3 minutes in cast recordings
• Track #: 7 on the album
• Language: English
• Album: The Wizard of Oz (2011 London Palladium Recording)
• Music style: Patter-chorus march with recitative
• Poetic meter: Mixed - conversational recitative into accentual-syllabic chorus

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Harold Arlen - composed music for the 1939 film score.
• E. Y. Harburg - wrote lyrics for the Munchkinland sequence and chorus.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber - produced the 2011 London revival and its album.
• Nigel Wright - produced and mixed the cast recording.
• Danielle Hope - originated Dorothy in the 2011 London revival.
• Emily Tierney - performed Glinda in the 2011 London revival.
• Polydor - issued the UK cast album on May 9, 2011.
• Decca Broadway - handled U.S. physical release later in June 2011.

Questions and Answers

Why does the piece stop for a “legal” check before the celebration?

Harburg turns civic procedure into comedy. The gag resets the town from superstition to rule-of-law, then green-lights the party.

What makes the chorus so sticky?

The two-beat chant sits on simple triads with crisp rests, so the hook pops without strain. Classic earworm engineering.

How does the 2011 recording differ from the 1939 film sound?

Cleaner studio blend, brighter percussion, and contemporary chorus stacking. The shape is faithful; the finish is modern.

Does the song have a life outside the show?

Plenty - from jazz covers to a headline-grabbing UK chart spike decades after the film. The refrain became cultural shorthand for regime change.

Who drives the narrative here - Dorothy or Glinda?

Glinda frames the scene; Dorothy grounds it with practical detail. The townsfolk supply the release.

What vocal approach works best for the refrain?

Forward placement and crisp consonants. Treat it like a town band - bright vowels, firm cutoffs, no drag.

Is it better brisk or stately?

Brisk usually wins. The pep amplifies the civic pageant quality and keeps the comedy buoyant.

Awards and Chart Positions

Chart notes: The refrain’s most visible late-life moment came in April 2013 when “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” entered the UK Official Singles Chart at number 2 credited to the Wizard of Oz film cast - a flashpoint widely covered at the time.

Notable covers that helped keep the tune in circulation include Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition from her Harold Arlen songbook and a season three Glee performance by Kurt and Rachel. According to the Guardian, the 2013 chart run sparked a BBC programming debate about how to present the track on the chart show.

Additional Info

According to Official Charts Company retrospectives, the 2013 spike followed an online campaign that reframed the chorus as political theater, proving how a film number can mutate into a protest meme. As stated in Playbill’s 2011 coverage, the London cast album landed in U.S. stores a few weeks after its UK digital release, which is why American listeners often encountered a Decca Broadway imprint. For an older historical aside, critics have long noted Harburg’s virtuosic wordplay in this sequence - a songwriting flex that Salman Rushdie once described in his essay on the film as a fireworks show of rhyme and invented words.

Sources: Official Charts Company; Playbill; CastAlbums.org; Guardian; YouTube - Universal Music; Wikipedia; Apple Music; Spotify; The New Yorker.