I Wanna Be Bobby’s Girl

My dad said I sang for the first time at nine months old. I remember at about 1 and 1/2 being in a little dog costume, and singing “How Much is That Doggie in the Window” with a bunch of other toddlers. I say I sang all my life, I sang in the outfields of grade schools (more than one) to my friends. I can distinctly remember singing “I Wanna be Bobby’s Girl” before I knew what it was to be anybody’s girl outside of myself. I wasn’t shy then, that came later, maybe after 3 different grade schools in five years, that didn’t include kindergarten. When the shyness set in I still sang, just not as boldly; I was still loud. Only not loud enough in sixth grade to drown out the girl singing a duet with me out of tune. I was incredibly self punishing if it wasn’t perfect. A terrible fault I still struggle with today. (I hate to think it’s gotten the best of me now.) I will not surrender. Stating all of this right now, I see some clarity. It’s making me realize how much I need to continue to define myself even as I am aging regardless of the person I thought I was in the past, or my feelings about my age now and what I think is acceptable for me. I would like to tell convention about stages in life to shove it, and continue to be viable in any way I can be.

I haven’t sang but a few times since my Mother died in 2003. The longer I go the harder it is to get back up. I’m not sure why I stopped, it just became harder and harder to muster the energy. At times I am filled with a great longing to sing out, and at other times it is a great relief to be quiet. But I wonder, is it giving up; I do believe that it is important to challenge fixed ideas. I have believed this for as long as I have been an adult with a philosophy, whether it be close religious ideas or feelings and ideas regarding family, marriage or aging. Question everything has been my determination since I was about 17. So I question my silence and writing has allowed me to see I have indulged too long at an enforced sabbatical, and it may be time to challenge myself again. Hopefully, if possible, with a lot less seriousness than before. In theory, I believe these spaces are allowed in life and important to take, you just don’t want to get stuck in them.

It’s a total untruth that life ends at…

By the way, I found this video on YouTube, with the song, and Goren, (Law & Order Criminal Intent Bobby Goren, whom I love!!!) It’s perfect!

[youtube width=”445″ height=”364″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-2abUxEcM[/youtube]

The previous video is left for posterity. A link to the song is below.

Lyrics

BOBBY’S GIRL
Marcie Blane

When people ask of me,
What would you like to be
Now that your not a kid anymore.
(You’re not a kid anymore)

I know just what to say,
I answer right away,
There’s just one thing I’ve been wishing for…

I want to be Bobby’s girl
I want to be Bobby’s girl,
That’s the most important thing to me…

And if I was Bobby’s girl,
If I was Bobby’s girl,
What a faithful thankful girl I’d be.

Each night I sit at home,
Hoping that he will phone,
But I know Bobby has someone else

Still in my heart I pray
There soon will come the day
That I will have him all to myself…

I want to be Bobby’s girl
I want to be Bobby’s girl,
That’s the most important thing to me…

And if I was Bobby’s girl,
If I was Bobby’s girl,
What a faithful thankful girl I’d be.
What a faithful thankful girl I’d be…

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Gary Klein / Henry Hoffman
Bobby’s Girl lyrics © Ame Of N.y