Donna Summer

Released: May 20, 2008

Songwriter: Wayne Hector Lester Mendez Donna Summer

Producer: Lester Mendez

Let me introduce myself
I'm a woman that you've never seen
You might know me from somewhere else
As someone that I've never been

I gave everything to play the game
My soul fell apart at the seems
I fell down like a house of cards
When somebody pulled the Queen

'Cause you could spend your life
Looking for your own reflection
Time can blur the lines
Between what's real and what's projected

Had I known what I lost
What I'd gained
What it cost
I'd still give what remains
To be myself again

You must believe me when I say
Don't live someone else's desire
Turn it around like a photograph
The writing's been there all the time

Now you can have all these hopes and dreams
The ones I can't use anymore
I don't know what it is you lost
But I hope you got what you came for

'Cause you could spend your life
Looking for your own reflection
Time can blur the lines
Between what's real and what's projected

Had I known what I lost
What I'd gained
What it cost
I'd still give what remains
To be myself again

Sometimes I wanna leave right now
Sometimes I wanna cry out loud
I wanna let it all hang out
But I don't wanna let you down

Sometimes I wanna just lay here
Sometimes I wanna disappear
I wanna show you all my fear
But I don't wanna let you down

'Cause you could spend your life
Looking for your own reflection
Time can blur the lines
Between what's real and what's projected

Had I known what I lost
What I'd gained
What it cost
I'd still give what remains
To be myself again
To be myself again...

As the unquestioned queen of disco, the one and only Donna Summer lit up the late 70s and 80s with flashy, exuberant vocals and automatic earworms. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on Dec. 31, 1948, Summer moved to Germany after being cast in a Munich production of Hair. There, she happened to meet Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and the trio conglomerated to form a dynamic music team. With Moroder, Summer forged together her first album, The Hostage, which reached moderate success in Northern Europe. Summer’s big break, however, would come later with the release of 1975’s sexual “Love to Love You Baby”, which became one of disco’s first mainstream hits and reached #2 on the Billboard Charts.

1977 came around with the concept album I Remember Yesterday, which featured the Top 10 single “I Feel Love”. The next year, Summer hit the silver screen with the movie Thank God It’s Friday, whose soundtrack featured one of her own the iconic “Last Dance.” This would later become one of the disco legends' signature songs. “Dance” would take home an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe, and it jumped to a peak of #3 on the charts.

Yet Summer’s illustrious career was far from finished – Summer’s first live album Live and More featured the single “MacArthur Park”, a melting ballad that was a cover of the Jimmy Webb ballad of the same name. “Park” became Summer’s first – and perhaps most memorable – No. 1 hit, and cemented her status as a vocalist as well as a performer. With the track, she became the first female in modern rock history to hold the top spot in both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. 1979, though, would really be the peak of her career.

more tracks from the album

Crayons

From the album

Crayons (2008)

Donna Summer popular songs

Be Myself AgainDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Crayons