Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead is a 1939 song from the film The Wizard of Oz. It is the centerpiece of the Munchkin sequence that celebrates the Wicked Witch of the East’s death after Dorothy’s house lands on her. The number is performed in the film by Glinda and Dorothy with a chorus of Munchkins, and the on-screen Munchkin voices were largely dubbed for the film.
The song was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. It appears on the The Wizard of Oz (1939) soundtrack—the film’s musical album—featuring Judy Garland as Dorothy and Billie Burke as Glinda, among the Munchkin actors.
Notable facts include a 2004 remix that reached #82 in AFI’s 100 Years...100 Songs, and in 2013 the song charted at #2 on the UK Singles Chart in the wake of Margaret Thatcher’s death. The tune has been covered by artists such as Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, and Barbra Streisand, and remains a recognizable part of film music history.
