Revenge of the 30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16

Day 16 - A Sequel Song

"Judy's Turn to Cry" - Lesley Gore, I'll Cry if I Want To (1963)

You've probably heard "It's My Party". It's a short little story song about a girl having a birthday shin-dig. Her boyfriend Johnny is spotted holding the hand of a girl named Judy and now they are no where to be found. The girl decides to sulk and cry because it's her damn party and she'll cry if she wants to. Suddenly, Johnny and Judy return and she is wearing his class ring!

The song was a huge hit and remains one of the best known Oldies to this day. Yours truly even performed it at a talent show. [holding for your applause] Teenage Lesley Gore was thrust into the spotlight and briefly became America's sweetheart. And there is no way America's sweetheart could be left with a broken heart, so a sequel song was rushed into production.

Let's play a game. If a song came out today about a girl who's boyfriend dumped her on her birthday for another girl, what do you think the conclusion would be? Why she would kick his worthless, cheating ass to the curb, of course. And then she would meet another guy. A great guy with moves like Jagger and pumped up kicks. But this was not the case in 1963.

"Judy's Turn to Cry" begins with a recap of earlier events, but Lesley assures us that her tears were cried for naught because Johnny has come back to her. At another party, Johnny and Judy are making out so our narrator goes on the rebound and kisses another guy. Johnny sees it, get jealous, and punches out the poor sap who only wanted some lip action. Johnny still loves her and apparently, Judy is left to cry on her own.

Obviously, this song is a product of its pre-women's lib time. However, I'm certain that these types of shenanigans--girls throwing themselves at someone else to make their ex jealous--happen all the time. It's just not acceptable to write a song about it.