I Enjoy Being a Girl
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"I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a show tune from the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song. It is the showpiece for the Linda Low showgirl character. The musical is a comedic love story about growing up Chinese in America, the clash between the traditional values of the old country and the modern ways of America.
Though Flower Drum Song was not as successful as other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, the song, "I Enjoy Being a Girl," has remained a popular choice for recording vocalists, including Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Pat Suzuki, and Phranc. The song has been parodied by Sarah Jessica Parker in a Gap commercial and went viral as "I Enjoy Being Al Gore". It has also turned up in works inspired by Harry Potter, Xena, and Battlestar Galactica. Comedian Rosanne Barr parodied the song in 1990. Alvin and the Chipmunks performed the song in the 1983 Alvin and the Chipmunks episode "A Dog's Best Friend Is His Chipmunk" (with new lyrics specifically for the episode). It was parodied in Episode 24 of season 3 of "The Muppet Show", when Cheryl Ladd and Miss Piggy bash a dummy and Kermit is set loose in Ladd's dressing room.
The lyrics praise the traditional values of being a woman that longs to be the object of a man's affection. It is often considered to be "camp" or "kitsch" and has frequently been performed by drag queens.
The original Broadway cast includes the version by Pat Suzuki on LP and CD. There is also a new David Henry Hwang version on CD. The movie version is sung by B. J. Baker (not of Asian descent).
External links
- List of recordings at Allmusic (accessed 6 July 2011).
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