Do you enjoy old Irish folk songs? How about "I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen”? A song covered by Slim Whitman in 1957, Elvis Presley in 1973, Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, and even featured in a Star Trek episode when an inebriated Lieutenant Kevin Riley attempted to sing this beautiful "Irish ballad”. But guess what? It’s not an old Irish folk song! Surprisingly, I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen, was written in Plainfield, Indiana by an American composer, Thomas P. Westendorf in 1875, and first introduced to the public by a group of singers performing at the town hall in Plainfield, Indiana. The sheet music was first published in 1876 in Cincinnati, Ohio and it soon became one of the most popular songs in America!
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list.htm with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
Belle
Some songs are written about mythical female characters from legends and stories. The songs are about a goddess, the heroine, or some other interesting character. When these stories become theatrical productions, songs help bring the characters to life, goading our emotions into caring for the characters. They may not have been real actual people, but we care about them as if they were. This is true even with animated movies. An excellent example of this is the song “Belle” about the lead character in the 1991 Disney production of Beauty and the Beast. The animated movie was also adapted and produced as a very successful Broadway musical in 1994 and most recently, now in 2017 released as a full length live-action movie. The beautiful song, Belle was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and sung by Paige O'Hara (Belle).
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
Jolene, the other woman
The 1973 Dolly Parton hit song, Jolene is a good example of a song about the “other” woman. According to interviews and as stated on some live performances, Dolly says she wrote the song about an attractive bank clerk who was a little too flirtatious with Dolly’s husband, Carl Dean. The woman’s name was not Jolene, Dolly took that name from a young fan who wanted an autograph; she thought the name was pretty and ideal for the song. Jolene was not only one of her most successful songs, but also her song most covered by other performers. Jack White took the song and changed the perspective so he could sing about Jolene as his girlfriend who was cheating on him with one of his buddies; it’s been a very popular part of concerts by The White Stripes. With Jolene portrayed as a cheating girlfriend, Jack White makes it a very emotional performance! Other cover versions include one by Dolly with Pentatonix and one by Mindy Smith (said to be one of Dolly’s favorites). Songs on our list about the “other” woman also include I'm Not Lisa (My Name is Julie) by Jessi Colter and two songs from the man’s perspective, Margie’s At The Lincoln Park Inn, by Bobby Bare, and (Lying Here With) Linda On My Mind, by Conway Twitty.
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
A Girl Named January
The song, January, was written by David Paton, lead singer and co-founder of the Scottish pop-rock band Pilot. In an interview, David Paton explained the origin of his 1975 hit song. He described how one evening as his wife was reading a book featuring a lead female character named January, she said to David, “January is a nice name for a girl, don’t you think?” He started thinking about it along with a melody and soon wrote the song about a girl named January. The song was the biggest hit for Pilot, reaching number one on the UK Singles chart for three weeks and charted at number one in Australia as well. January only dipped into the top 40 list in the USA where Pilot was better known for their other hit pop song, Magic which charted at number 5 in the USA.
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
Learn about other songs with female names in the title or lyrics at www.GirlsNameSongs.com/list with the song List page with over 2,200 songs!
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