Strike While The Irony Is Hot

[howeird]

I've become a fan, though a somewhat reserved one,  of Tata Young. She's Thai, and I first got interested in her when i heard a song where she slipped seamlessly between Thai and English. This is very rare, because most Thais just can't pronounce English anywhere close to native speaker level. Ms Young's father is American, which probably accounts for her no-accent English.

Some of her stuff is rap, and somehow, for me at least,  it's more disgusting to hear in Thai than in English. One of her recent albums is called Dangerous Tata (I like the pun) and the title song, Dangerous, is a very clever mixture of Thai and English. She uses a lot of techno, too.

pyrzqxgl pointed me to one of her all-English songs, Cinderella, which I did not listen to closely at first (I was looking for ballads and quiet songs at the time) but now I'm hooked. It's heavy duty rock, and I love the message of self-esteem.


Cinderella

When I was just a little girl
My momma used to tuck me into bed
And she read me a story
It always was about a Princess in distress
And how a guy would save her
And end up with the glory

I'd lie in bed and think about
The person that I wanted to be
Then one day I realized
The fairy tale life wasn't for me

[Chorus]
I don't wanna be like Cinderella
Sittin' in a dark old dusty cellar
Waiting for somebody, to come and set me free
I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
On a horse of white, unless we're riding side by side
Don't want to depend on no-one else
I'd rather rescue myself

Someday I'm gonna find
Someone who wants my soul, heart and mind
Who's not afraid to show that he loves me
Somebody who will understand
I'm happy just the way I am
Don't need nobody taking care of me

I will be there for him just as strong as he will be there for me
When I give myself then it has got to be an equal thing

[Chorus]

I can slay my own dragon
I can dream my own dreams
My knight in shining armour is me
So I'm gonna set me free

[Chorus]

Comments

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

My 11-year-old still sings that fairly often.

When I was looking for credits music for that DVD I listened to the versions by the Cheetah Girls and Play as well -- the arrangements are extremely similar, but I thought Tata Young's version was best in terms of personality, clarity, quality of voice.