Same Song, Different Lyrics (and Meaning): Girls Just Want To Have Fun
To "have fun" could mean different things to different people...
"So, what I told you was true...from a certain point of view.", "A certain point of view?", "Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." - Obi-Wan Kenobi's ghost and Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Usually, when a musician covers another artist's song, they'll change up the arrangement to suit their musical style but leave the lyrics alone. Sure, they may occasionally change a few words here or there, such as Joan Baez's 1971 cover of The Band's 1969 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, or the countless covers of the late Leonard Cohen's 1984 Hallelujah, but for the most part, the song and its meaning remain the same. However, once in a while, a musician will alter the lyrics as well and reinterpret the song's original story or meaning. As mentioned in a previous post, the late Robert Hazard's 1979 Girls Just Want To Have Fun is quite different from Cyndi Lauper's 1983 cover. The former is sung from the perspective of a narcissistic playboy who views himself as the "fun" girls want to have at all hours of the day and night. The latter is sung from the perspective of a girl who simply wants to have fun after work, with no risque double-entendre attached to the word "fun". As such, I thought it would be interesting to compare the lyrical and tonal differences between both versions of Girls Just Want To Have Fun, alternating verses between Robert Hazard's and Cyndi Lauper's lyrics. Maestro, cue the music, please...
Robert Hazard: The phone rings in the middle of the night, my father says, "My boy, what do you want from your life?" Father dear, you are the fortunate one. Girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: I come home in the morning light. My mother says, "When you gonna live your life right?" Oh, momma dear, we're not the fortunate ones, and girls, they wanna have fun. Oh, girls just wanna have fun.
Robert Hazard: Come home with the morning light. My mother says, "My boy, you've got to start living right." Don't worry, mother dear, you're still number one. Girls just wanna have fun. These girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: The phone rings, in the middle of the night, my father yells, "What you gonna do with your life?" Oh, daddy dear, you know you're still number one, but girls they wanna have fun, oh, girls just wanna have...
Robert Hazard: That's all they really want, some fun. When the working day is done, girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: That's all they really want, some fun. When the working day is done, oh, girls, they wanna have fun. Oh, girls just wanna have fun. Girls, they want, wanna have fun. Girls, wanna have...
Robert Hazard: Some guys take a beautiful girl, they try to hide her away from the rest of the world. All my girls have got to walk in the sun. 'Cause girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: Some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her away from the rest of the world. I wanna be the one to walk in the sun. Oh, girls, they wanna have fun. Oh, girls just wanna have...
Robert Hazard: I know your love for him is deep as day is long. I know you'd never be the thing to do him wrong. But when I knock on your door, I'm close now, you could come. It really wasn't important, 'cause girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: ...
Robert Hazard: It's all they really want. Good fun. When the working day is done, girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: That's all they really want, is some fun. When the working day is done, oh, girls, they wanna have fun. Oh, girls just wanna have fun. Girls, they want, wanna have fun. Girls, wanna have...
Robert Hazard: Just wanna, just wanna, come on, boy, just wanna, just wanna, oh, yeah, just wanna, just wanna, you are the fortunate one. Girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun. Just wanna, just wanna, come here, boy, just wanna, just wanna, oh, yeah, just wanna, just wanna, you are the fortunate one. Girls just wanna have fun. Yeah, girls just wanna have fun.
Cyndi Lauper: They just wanna, they just wanna, girls, they just wanna, they just wanna, girls just wanna have fun, oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun. They just wanna, they just wanna, they just wanna, they just wanna, girls, they just wanna, they just wanna, girls just wanna have fun. Oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun. When the workin', when the working day is done, oh, when the working day is done, oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun. They just wanna, they just wanna, girls, they just wanna, they just wanna, girls just wanna have fun. Oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun. They just wanna, they just wanna, when the workin', when the working day is done, they just wanna, they just wanna, oh, when the working day is done, oh, girls, girls just wanna have fun. They just wanna, they just wanna, they just wanna, they just wanna...
I hope you enjoyed this exercise. Just to clarify, this comparison wasn't intended to criticize or put down the original version. There are many cases when a cover version is more popular, or considered superior, to the original song. However, it's important to remember that, without the original, a cover would never exist. Anyway, I think it's cool how one song can tell two different stories with a few alterations to the lyrics. Girls Just Want To Have Fun isn't the only example of this, so I'll be doing the same with more songs down the road. Until next time, love, peace, and chicken grease.