Cyndi Lauper

Songwriter: David Thornton Cyndi Lauper Tom Gray

Somber sister
This is a strange and bitter fruit
Because you taught me to sing
And the rhythm in my heart
And the rhythm in my feet is -

Why are the rainbows
Stolen from the sky
And locked up in boxes
Yellow, black, red and white
Like birds in their cages
Beating their wings on the bars
And there's a song that they're singing
It's a word in the world
It's a word in their hearts

A part hate
I heard a man say
Tear apart hate
And I saw hope in his face
A part hate
Where the color of love
Slips away

Why are the children
Carrying guns, not books
Drug dealing, not learning
The golden rule
And the idea of freedom
Not just the same
Castle in the sky
Haunted by white-sheeted ghouls
Filled with hate me
And hate you
And proud of it too

A part hate
Heard a woman saying
Tear apart hate
And I saw hope in her face
A part hate
Where the color of love
Slips away

Why are the people
Running down the block
Rock throwing, not knowing
What else to do
But I'm just a spectator
And I can never know the pain
But when I hear
That whip cracking
I cry out tears of anger
I cry out tears of shame

A part hate
I heard myself say
Tear apart hate
And I saw hope in my face
A part hate
Where the color of love
Slips away...

Tear apart hate tear apart hate
Tear apart hate tear apart hate
Tear apart hate tear apart hate...

An 80’s pop starlet that skyrocketed her way to the top of the mainstream game, Cyndi Lauper has made her mark as an artist both socially and musically.

Beginning her solo career in the 1983 with hit debut album She’s So Unusual, Lauper came to be a household name with the four top-five hits that came with the record, including breakthrough single “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and the visceral, chart-topping “Time After Time”. Her camp attitude, electrifying vocals, and unrelenting earworms made an impression on the general public, and she would take home Best New Artist and Best Album Package at the Grammy’s for She’s So Unusual, amidst 4 other nominations. Lauper would never reach the same sort of stardom again musically following She’s So Unusual, but her legacy was far from over.

She’s So Unusual set the ground for her next True Colors. Released in 1986, the album most notably contained title-track “True Colors”, which would grow to become a primary anthem of the gay rights movement. Lauper would later serve as a key advocate of the LGBT community, and she has fairly consistently addressed homophobia throughout her career.

more tracks from the album

Hat Full of Stars

From the album

Hat Full of Stars (1993)

Cyndi Lauper popular songs

A Part HateCyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper

Hat Full of Stars