Cyndi Lauper was long best known — at least for those of us old enough to remember when she was a pop star — for the catchy, carefree, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” It has been called a feminist song by some (though I never heard it as that); interestingly, like popular feminist anthem Aretha Franklin’s signature song, “Respect,” it was written by a man to be sung from his point of view.
Lauper showed a more serious side in later turning out an album of jazz standards — an album that includes such classics as “At Last,” “Unchained Melody” (hers here), “La Vie En Rose,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” and (with Tony Bennett) “Makin’ Whoopee.” Today, perhaps more people know Lauper for the Tony-winning Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” which demonstrated that the singer is far more than a pop star who could put a unique spin on other people’s words.
In fact, her second-biggest hit from the same debut album as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” is one that Lauper co-wrote and which has more emotional depth than “Girls.” “Time After Time” has been covered by a range of artists, including Miles Davis.
In terms of the words, most important for me are these, which Joanna and I each know to be true of each other:
If you’re lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you I’ll be waiting
Time after time
Complete lyrics here, with melancholy original video (complete with old movie footage) below. Or you can see a tearful live version, in which Lauper looks much like Janis Joplin, here.
Love Songs for Joanna 