Jake Shimabukuro plays "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

[RichardDBrady]

Jake plays with virtuosity and passion. IZ, rest in peace, played and lived with virtuosity and passion. Neither is "better" than the other. We should give tribute to excellence wherever we find it. May their music lift our spirits and make us cry and laugh and be filled with joy!

[billabongxx9]

this is awful you can like BARELY tell its "somewhere over the rainbow" so idk what everyone is talking about

[funkwink]

Sheer genius....

[monkeyseevids]

sffwagfWGQRGF

[monkeyseevids]

this guy is amazing!!! i just saw him last night at UNCA and he was great!!!

i am an intermediate ukulele player and he is like my idol!!!

[sturgismom13]

This is beautiful music.

[iloverumi]

the 13 people who didn't like this need to have their brains taken away so they can't do anymore damage with them

[hellomoohere]

Its amazing, he plays the notes like he's in love and its no ordinary love, its the kind of feeling where you fall in love at the beginning and you go through it all over again without the love ever failing Ever. This is passion running through his veins, you can hear it as his heart pumps it through him

[scottysas98]

he just wanted his friend to be famous shit

[earlejoseph3]

man this just makes me miss my friends in Haiku. can't wait to get back there

[elsangrecaliente]

Elegant and classy. He made it his own. Beautifully done.

[iwantcandy303]

you are a man, jake shimabukuro. you are a man.

[degerovita91]

are you kidding this is totally recognizable. so good.

[steventown]

honestly, if it did not say "somewhere over the rainbow", i would not recognize it.

sounds beautiful, though

[holoholom]

I'd Like To Play Like That

[awesomepeople100]

iz kamakawiwo'ole FTW!

[nos0323]

omg i live next to him and he's my best friend's brother so i getting lessons from him ^^ im not lying haha and he played this song for me cause its my favorite XD

[JMSejah]

@nos0323

proof plz.

[rissleep]

Cabn't wait for him to play in this life with Bette Midler for the Queen this week on the royal variety show!!!!

[vansrider279876]

I love all Jakes music but I dont really like this version the way he plays i like i classic way

[OurToxicAffair]

Also check out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" that he plays. Just beautiful!

[Underdogjoe]

@OurToxicAffair almost makes me mad that it sounds better than the original :/

[jikvig]

What is lol?

Anyhow, great music, thanks for sharing!

You got to be jealous of his talent!

[luispi09]

i'm the pope

[turdfacesaywhaaaa]

hey!.....i thought i was the pope... =[

[Ash2good99]

We can all be the pope.

[turdfacesaywhaaaa]

hooray!

[jbs5280]

Jake is a virtuoso man.

And who in the hell is 808 referring to? Sick M.ighty F.ine excuse for a human you are 808.

Remember the old 60's tune, 'These (cliffs) were made for (jumpin')

[MPMaarek]

Whoa! Cool. Rare quality on Youtube! Ignore my previous rant, in that case.

[samuraidog50]

jake is the most badass cat ever! also the coolest dude you ever wanna meet! he is truly 1 of a kind! he represents the real aloha spirit!

[Frankenadel]

you rock man! xD

[goafreak11]

just listen the bloody thing and apprieciate it for what it is rather then comparing and critisizing.

[macamharambtol]

Hey...

Can somebody tell me why this song is a tribute to Israel??

[duenyen]

Search YouTube for "Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole ' IZ' 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' HQ" and listen to his rendition. You will be amazed!

[affnan]

@macamharambtol Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole is a beautiful artist, making beautiful music.

[walkshe]

@macamharambtol "Iz" also played the Uke wonderfully and had a beautiful voice. He was considered a Hawaiian treasure. He passed away at a fairly young age due to multiple health issues.

[msjuniejane1]

@macamharambtol Because IZ sang a wonderful version of this song that still makes me cry to this day. It's probably the best version ever!

[lkgrave]

If you hear someone play an instrument like that. Do you really need singing?

[babylonsriver]

death to 808.

[808whysoserious]

death to your mother and family and most of all YOU

[MPMaarek]

You may play WITH your Ukulele, You certainly don't play it. For you it's a toy to imitate other with. This is a musicians inspiration.

[808whysoserious]

lol i can play the ukulele YOU CANT LOL

[MPMaarek]

I can not, you are correct. But once again, you play WITH your ukulele, you don't play it. Post a version of this song thats even 1/100th this good and I'll bow down to you. You will not, however, because you can not. Nothing you can say will change that.

[4scene2blame]

The Ukulele is an instrument, therefore you can "play" it as in playing a song. Playing "with" the Ukulele gives the impression that you're just messing around with it. In other words, just stick to the stupid grammar rules so people know what you're referring to, lol.

[MPMaarek]

Actually, I was referring to him playing with it, like a toddler would. I am suggesting exactly what you assert; that he is "messing around with it." I am sticking to grammar rules perfectly well, as you appear to have understood exactly what I was referring to. I would suggest that you study the rules you speak of. In this way, you will not have to remove your own comments because your grammar is so poor that you look like a fool while attempting to correct others.

[4scene2blame]

Oh, lol. took me a while to get what you meant on that last part. Actually I'm new on Youtube, and when I sent in my reply to your comment, my computer displayed it incorrectly. So I deleted it and reentered my comment only to find the original in it's place. I simply repeated myself and will even undelete it to show you this. BTW, I didn't know you meant it in that way, so please ignore my "correction." And peace man, I wasn't trying to insult you in any way.

[starforcedragon9]

MPMaarek i believe what you say that some people use the uke as a toy but don't focus it on one guy. damn the world these days.

[sharaykamaka]

i love this video

[highlife66]

How inspiring...

Thanks!

[seredin89]

yeah i know the song. and the movie, im not musically illiterate, but you have to agree that this sounds way more like Breathe than Somewhere over the Rainbow, right? he sped it up, but this is essentially the same song....

[VeniceKing1]

nice :)

[knockerboxer01]

was this on kauai at da convention center?

[duenyen]

No, in Waikiki, see description

[l3loody]

@duenyen lol says waikiki on the huge banner behind him LOL

[podcastdude]

Yes, that's why the sign in the background says "Waikiki by Moonlight"

[Kimomalino]

@knockerboxer01 it says waikiki right behind him.....

[erkod]

@knockerboxer01 ha, i thought the same thing.

[onebigmigraine]

Great version! Ü

[ew1234321]

it is somewhere over the rainbow you can the chords from it if you listen closely

[elarbol04]

it would have been amazing if IZ and Jake could have recorded something together!

[seredin89]

um...this wasnt really somewhere over the rainbow. im a huge fan of jake and all, have all his albums, but doesnt this sound alot like Breath from Gently Weeps? im pretty sure it is, and he just made it a tribute to Iz. i dont know why he said it was over the rainbow cuz it sounded nothing like it and was really really close to just playing Breath. thoughts?

[dsdna]

You obviously aren't familiar with the original version of this song. Watch the Wizard of Oz again. Its on you tube- search Judy garland over the rainbow. Iz changed the melody in his recording and added Its a wonderful world.

[weencent]

i disagree, lovely verson of somewherre over the rainbow...

[taleofsixstrings]

there are no limits to genius

[aznxtasy341]

it actually is fuckin crazy that hes only playing with 4 strings cause hes playing all the chords with extensions like b9 and #13 ALONG with the chord tones itself

[delpuckett]

ddamn - that pisses me off...why CANT I PLAY LIKE THAT !?!?!?! AAARRRGGGGG

[SeanPreis1294]

he plays that ukulele like its his job

[chuminat0r]

it IS his job ;)

[andtheresnocure]

it's his LIFE.

[overcaffein8d]

you can tell he's really into it; he moves around when he plays. that's what i do when i play the guitar.

but even with 6 strings i don't sound that good :P

[EeveEH]

it's not like you need a bunch of strings to sound good;)

[macb423]

We could all have 50 strings and never even touch him.

[Ryanatwood3]

man he rocks

[bakedflakes]

I cant belive that he sounds so gud especially with just 4 strings.

[goodgodlygirl2]

WOW!!!! AMAZING!!!!

[nignorance]

i wish he would sing the song to instead of just playing it but hes still amazing

[jazzysam1314]

thats was no doubt amazing,he played the song like he was telling the story. For all those who wants to be negative,well,seriously, are you too jeaslous or something?

[psykvarden]

im jelous :P if I had Jake's skills I would most deffinatly do the same thing he does now, entertain the world.

[MarkA15]

and get laid

[ferrarif40]

Drifted too far from the melody. I still love Jake but this wasn't his best

[theBigTakeover]

This man is a giant!

[nitr0z]

thid wasnt really something you could call an iz cover.. its just a song in the same chords

[miesvanderrobot]

The best tribute you can give to another artist is the best of yourself. Instead of just doing a cover that wouldn't do justice to the original anyway, he does something that is uniquely his - giving the gift of his own talent instead of trying to ape someone else's. Classy and beautiful.

[najtrows]

but even if its the best you got it isnt always good =)

[kschleifer]

amen to that

[R0nard]

jake has a talent that can not be replaced and i feel that he put so much emotion into this song that Iz would be happy to hear it. JAKE, SHOW THE WORLD WAT YOU GOT!!!

[deadleather]

I like the melody, doesn't really sound like IZ but it just sounds good

[dzthom]

lol, that's a lot of hate. Hateful emotions usually derive from jealousy...

[keegansane1223]

hahahahahahahah you are a dipshit

[thismanonfire]

hey benjy. we share a name, but i am wayyy cooler than you.

[OriginalDarkAardvark]

so many haters. if you want to insult him, put a vid of yourself up. otherwise, shut the hell up

[kamenriderbrx]

Jake is one of the best period.

[curseabbie]

it sounds nice, but its not what i wanted to hear

[mikeymilky]

wtf this is not good this is not somewhere over the rainbow this sucks

[OriginalDarkAardvark]

upload your video, you douche-fuck

[atoweliznotahat]

Absolutely awesome!

I would love to hear what Jake and Iz would have sounded like together.

[Ilikelink]

I've reached 1:01 and I'm bored stiff. when does he actually start playing?

[VUandChips]

Iz just strummed this, nice and simple. Just goes to show that musicianship isn't everything. (I like Jake Shumabukuro!)

[friluse]

that didnt sound anything like it? You are an idiot. Hes playing over the basic chord structuring of the song.. its a jazz standard thats how its done u putz

[Guitars19]

excellent

[DodoJay]

we get it hes the best, but come on! that was trash, that didnt sound anyting like it.

[kablooie267]

Go check your ears i think you might be deaf?

[DodoJay]

"Man! batman get the fuk out of here!" try not to walch the video and Lison to it and then kiss ma ass!

[zeeleekiwi]

fantastic post! great musician and great audio quality! thanks

[teejate]

A tribute to Iz. Very cool.

[taleofsixstrings]

thanks for posting. he's truly a great musician!

[kaimisawesome]

my gawd... this was the night of my graduation.. dammit i woulda wanted to be here.. but then again i would still be in high school if i ditched it.. nvm

[guting]

beautiful