Edgar Yipsel "Yip" Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg, 1896 – 1981) was an American popular song lyricist who wrote primarily for Broadway (both revues and musicals) and Hollywood. Notable individual songs include "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "Over the Rainbow", "April in Paris", "Lydia The Tattooed Lady", "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe". His full scores  include The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Cabin In The Sky (1943), Finian's Rainbow (1947/68), Bloomer Girl (1944), Jamaica (1947), and Hooray For What! (1937).
Harburg was a lifelong social justice advocate and socialist, which is often reflected in his lyrics. He was blacklisted from 1950-62.
|  | How Can I Hold You Close Enough?  (1935) | 
|  |  | In The Shade Of The New Apple Tree  (1937) Hooray For What! | 
|  | God's Country  (1938) Babes In Arms | 
|  | The Begat  (1947) Finian's Rainbow |