Released: September 15, 1986

Songwriter: Stephen Broughton Lunt Cyndi Lauper

Producer: Lennie Petze Cyndi Lauper

[Verse 1]
There's a riot in the kitchen and the bed's on fire
There's a locket in my pocket that I can't find

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, I'm at the window whistling in the wind
I'm at my own front door and I can't get in

[Chorus]
I'm dialing up 911
I'm on the brink of trouble again
If you could change the time a little
Then everything else would be fine, fine, fine

[Verse 2]
Tell me do you have a home-made remedy
The only time we talk is in our sleep

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, he likes mornings, I like the moon
It's a typical case of too little, too soon

[Chorus]
I'm dialing up 911
I'm on the brink of trouble again
If you could change the time a little
Then everything else would be fine, fine, fine

[Bridge]
My back is in the corner
My boat is taking on water
You can't wrap fire up in paper
And you can't rap your way out of here

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh I like mornings, he likes the moon
It's a typical case of too late, too soon

[Chorus]
I'm dialing up 911
I'm on the brink of trouble again
If you could change the time a little
Then everything else would be fine, fine, fine
Oh, I'm dialing up 911
I'm on the brink of trouble again
If you could change the time a little
Then everything else would be fine, fine, fine

[Outro: Cyndi Lauper, Pee-Wee Herman]
I'm dialing up the 911
I'm dialing up the 911
I'm dialing up the 911
I'm dialing up the 911

The 911 emergency number
Is not in effect in the area where you are
Please hang up and dial "0" for operator
This is a recording, ha-ha!

Cyndi Lauper

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.