Once upon a time, there was a young girl who dreamed of leaving behind a dull life in Leavenworth, Kan., to find something more exciting on the other side of the rainbow.

No – we’re not talking about Dorothy; rather, Melissa Etheridge, 47, who, much like the heroine in The Wizard of Oz, had a song in her heart, a head full of dreams and the courage to push forward.

And the dreams the young Etheridge dared to dream really did come true – she left Leavenworth for Los Angeles in 1982 and worked to get her break in the music industry.

The Technicolor daydreams kept Etheridge afloat in the black and white Midwest.

“I had really wild dreams when I was a kid of being a rock star,” Etheridge said during a recent interview with the Gay & Lesbian Times. “Now, what I thought that meant, though, was I would just make records and sing and be loved by everyone and never have a problem again in my life. I didn’t actually realize that I would have to live a life while I was being a rock star.”

The out and proud musician’s Yellow Brick Road has been paved with triumphs, including two Grammys for Best Female Rock Performance for the songs, “Ain’t It Heavy” in 1992 and “Come to My Window” in 1994. Etheridge also snagged a coveted Oscar for “I Need to Wake Up,” the theme song for the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

As for her proudest achievement, Etheridge was hard pressed to single out one moment.

“I have been so awesomely blessed,” she said. “And some just amazing things have happened to me … the Oscar was just over the top, and singing with Bruce Springsteen, it’s just been so many wonderful things that have happened; it’s hard to say which one is the best.”

Though golden, the road to success has also been bumpy.

Etheridge’s breakup with Julie Cypher was made public in 2000 and her bout with breast cancer was publicized in 2004.

Etheridge emerged a survivor and an inspiration from the latter, with a triumphant performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards, bald from her chemotherapy treatments.

“It changed my life completely,” Etheridge said of her bout with cancer. “The whole focus of my life, the perception of what life is, was changed by my diagnosis and subsequent treatment. [The] treatment, was the part that really got me because it’s a hideous thing they do – all the chemotherapy – and it takes you so close to death.

“And it really opened my eyes, because when my body was in this state of near death, I discovered my soul. I started to see that there was a lot more to us than the television, and the clothes we wear, and the cars we drive. It’s what my whole new album is about.”

Etheridge and her wife, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels, have been married since 2003, and are raising four children, including daughter Bailey Jean and son Beckett from her relationship with Cypher, and son Miller Steven and daughter Johnnie Rose, who are twins and almost two.

So, how is family life for Etheridge?

“Oh my gosh, I have four children! Oh my god!” Etheridge said laughing. “It’s the best thing I do; it’s the greatest thing I do is to be a mom – it’s the most important thing I do. It’s my ultimate joy and happiness is being a wife and mother. I try to be my best at my professional world, so I can go home and do my best at home.

“It really does require an awesome amount of patience and understanding of life and living in the now. They really bring you right into ‘But I want it now,’ and you have to take charge of what’s happening right this moment.”

Outside the home, and offstage, Etheridge also supports a number of causes.

“I don’t consciously go and use my celebrity for this, but what I’ve noticed is being a celebrity, the opportunities are wide open,” Etheridge said. “I am constantly asked, every day, if I can do this or do that, and I have to say no to a lot of things.

“Yet, there are the causes that are near and dear to me, because they are part of me – gay rights, you’re talking about my life there. Of course, I am going to be involved in that, it would be hypocritical of me not to. And then the cancer issues and the family issues and children – the things that I am are the things that I feel called to.”

Songwriting has proved to be another way for Etheridge to relate her life experiences to the masses, and songs such as “Bring Me Some Water,” “I’m the Only One,” “I Want to Come Over” and “Message to Myself” have certainly struck a chord with listeners.

Etheridge let us in on what sparks her creativity.

“That’s what it’s all about is the songs,” she said. “That’s the thing that I do by myself, all alone in my little room. And I try to translate what comes into my subconscious, my higher conscious, and I try to bring it into this realm of understanding with music – and that’s my craft, that’s my challenge.”

For someone who has seemingly done it all, including penning the book The Truth is … My Life in Love and Music, the humble and down-to-earth Etheridge would be subscribed career-wise to “see what comes along and what I want to do is keep making my music - that makes me very happy.”

Currently, the singer is making fans happy with “The Revival Tour,” which will hit San Diego on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Viejas Concerts in the Park at 8 p.m.

“[It’s called The Revival Tour] because there are a lot of spiritual themes, not only in the album, The Awakening, but in this tour,” she said. “And I wanted people to know there’s a little bit of extra sprinkles on top of this – you can come and rock out, we’re going to sing ‘I’m The Only One’ at the top of our lungs, and we’re going to talk about life.

“The way that the show is structured it’s actually my life story, from Kansas on out, and through the cancer – it’s a way to put all of these songs together in a cohesive manner. So I called it ‘The Revival Tour,’ and I try not to get too preachy, but I try to inspire and entertain, that’s my hope.”