OPINION: RUBY: Anybody want a Coke?

Jul. 23—KET recently aired a program about the Statue of Liberty, that American icon that stands as a tribute to immigration. But originally, it was France's tribute to Lincoln's freeing of American slaves. The program traces its journey from that to its symbolism today.

The program mentioned Neil Diamond's hit, "Coming to America," which he evidently wrote as a tribute to his grandparents who emigrated from Poland and Russia.

That set me thinking about the origins of other popular songs. Some are well known, like Paul Anka's writing "Diana" about a girl who sometimes babysat for his younger siblings.

Others, though, are more obscure. Neil Diamond wrote "Brother Love" after attending a revival meeting in Jackson, Miss. He said that as a college student, "we had all the answers." The experience, he said, was a turning point in his thinking and his career.

We might think that his "Sweet Caroline" is just a catchy love song, which he initially said was for his second wife. But in 2007, at her 50th birthday party, he revealed that he'd written it after seeing a cute photo of Caroline Kennedy standing next to her pony.

Listening to the lyrics, it is indeed a love song, but with this insight, it could also be a parent's song to a child.

When Barry Manilow released "Mandy" — his first #1 single — it caught the attention of lyricist Johnny Mercer because that was his daughter's name.

Several years later, his widow gave Manilow a folder of song lyrics that had never been put to music.

From those came Manilow's nostalgic hit "When October Goes."

"Over the Rainbow," an enduring hit recorded by so many, may have ended up in obscurity. Sung early in "The Wizard of Oz," MGM wanted to cut it because it slowed down the action too much.

Originally lyricist Yip Harburg "was expressing hope for America under Roosevelt's New Deal program." The song that began as a political statement became a statement of youthful hope and longing.

A couple of years ago I had to convince my son that "I Will Always Love You" was originally Dolly Parton's hit, not Whitney Huston's.

It actually originated in 1973, when, as a young performer, she had a falling out with mentor Porter Wagner. Wanting to leave his show to start out on her own, it is said that when she sang it to him, he relented and let her go. Another career-changing song.

Popular singer Donovan ostensibly wrote "Sunshine Superman" about his future wife. But he later said that in the psychedelic sixties, "Sunshine is a nickname for acid. The Superman is a person capable of entering higher states because it's not easy to go into the fourth dimension . . ." (Mojo magazine, June 2011). Was I the only one that didn't have a clue?

The seasonal "Baby It's Cold Outside," which became the center of controversy with the #Me Too movement, was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser for a housewarming party he and his wife were hosting.

It was so successful that they were asked to perform it repeatedly at parties. When Frank sold it to MGM for the 1949 movie "Neptune's Daughter," his wife felt betrayed and was very upset.

Although some songs, like Carly Simon's "Anticipation," are used in commercials, some were originally written for them.

"We've Only Just Begun," commissioned by Crocker Bank of California to appeal to young people, charted at #2 when The Carpenters recorded it.

"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," commissioned by Coke, made the top ten list and became a global hit.

"Music to Watch Girls By" began as an instrumental background for Alka-Seltzer's "No Matter What Shape Your Stomach's In" commercial. It charted at #3.

In my research, I discovered an article about Rod McClean's iconic "American Pie." When he sold the original composition in 2015, he included 16 pages of notes outlining the meanings of the lyrics.

The article on musicaroo.com, "American Pie" Lyrics and Meaning (Don McLean) provides details of his notes. And again, being fairly clueless, I always thought that "drove his Chevy to the levee" referred to an actual levee that had gone dry. Turns out is was a bar . . .

Well. Watching that KET special took me a long way from the Statue of Liberty, but I'm glad I made the journey. For now, I'd just like to teach the world to sing. And maybe go pop open a Coke . . .