Born Janis Eddy Fink on 7th April 1951 to a Jewish family in New York City, she was primarily raised in New Jersey, initially on a farm, and attended East Orange High School and the New York City High School of Music & Art. Her parents, Victor (a music teacher) and Pearl, ran a summer camp in upstate New York, and, in that Cold War era, were frequently under government surveillance because of their left-wing politics. (Ian alluded to these years later in her song "God and the FBI"). Young Janis admired the work of folk pioneers such as Joan Baez and Odetta. At the age of twelve, Ian wrote her first song, "Hair of Spun Gold", which was subsequently published in the folk publication Broadside and was later recorded for her debut album.
At the age of thirteen she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, using as her new last name her brother Eric's middle name. Also in that year, Ian wrote and sang her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)", about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers; the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the social norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, "Society's Child" finally became a national hit on its third release, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a television special: Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The song's content was taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists; in her 2008 autobiography Society's Child, Ian recalls receiving hate mail and death threats as a response to the song, and mentions that a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down. In the summer of 1967, "Society's Child" reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her most successful single in the United States was "At Seventeen", released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity, and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the perspective of a twenty-four-year-old. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female. The song's album, Between the Lines, reached number one on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified gold, and later earned a platinum certification for sales of over a million copies sold in the U.S.
Ian finally became one of the first "indie artists", resurfacing in 1993, with the worldwide release of Breaking Silence and its title song about incest. She also came out as a lesbian with that release. Her most recent album, Folk Is the New Black, was released in 2006; it is the first in over twenty years for which she did all the songwriting herself.
Boy
Janis Ian Lyrics
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Spent the night away from home
I know you're not to blame
If I can't recall your name
And I'm sorry if it causes you pain
Boy I really lost my head
I woke up in a double bed
Allow me the pleasure
Though I'm sure you ain't
Nobody's treasure
And I know it isn't ladylike
To do what I've done tonight
Wake up I've got news for you
Nobody's knocking at your door
Nobody's gonna pull you through
Nobody needs you anymore, yeah yeah
Nobody's knocking at your door
Boy I went around the bend
Thought I'd made a lifelong friend
Imagine my surprise
When I looked into your eyes
And saw the kind of friends
You meant
I think I'm gonna take the cure
I'm going on the wagon for sure
I may feel a fool
For a Sunday or two
But it's better than a Sunday with you
And I know it isn't ladylike
To do what I've done tonight
Wake up I've got news for you
Nobody's knocking at your door
Nobody's gonna pull you through
Nobody needs you anymore, yeah yeah
Nobody's knocking at your door
The song "I'm Sorry I'm a Lady" by Janis Ian is a confession of a woman who has had too much to drink and ends up sleeping with a stranger. The woman expresses her remorse for her actions, but also realizes that the man is not worth her time and that she needs to clean up her act. She admits that what she did was not ladylike, but she also feels that she has learned from her mistake and is taking steps to change her behavior.
The first verse sets up the story of the woman waking up in an unfamiliar bed, unable to recall the name of the man she is with. She apologizes for any pain she may have caused him, but also acknowledges that he is not someone she would want to be involved with. In the second verse, she reflects on her poor decisions and decides to go on the wagon in order to improve her life.
The chorus, "Wake up I've got news for you, nobody's knocking at your door," serves as a wake-up call for both the woman and the man. It is a reminder that they are not the center of the universe and that they need to take responsibility for their actions. In the end, the woman realizes that she is better off without the man and that she needs to focus on making better choices in her life.
Line by Line Meaning
Boy I really tied one on
I got really drunk last night
Spent the night away from home
I stayed out all night and didn't come home
I know you're not to blame
I'm not mad at you for anything
If I can't recall your name
I was so drunk that I forgot your name
And I'm sorry if it causes you pain
I apologize if my behavior hurt you
Boy I really lost my head
I went crazy and did something I regret
I woke up in a double bed
I woke up in a bed with someone else
Allow me the pleasure
Let me have the opportunity
Of taking your measure
Of evaluating you
Though I'm sure you ain't
Even though I know you're not
Nobody's treasure
You're not someone worth keeping
And I know it isn't ladylike
I know my behavior is not considered appropriate for a woman
To do what I've done tonight
To act this way
Wake up I've got news for you
I have something to tell you
Nobody's knocking at your door
No one is looking for you
Nobody's gonna pull you through
No one is going to help you
Nobody needs you anymore, yeah yeah
No one wants you anymore
Boy I went around the bend
I went crazy
Thought I'd made a lifelong friend
I thought I had found someone I could always count on
Imagine my surprise
I was shocked when
When I looked into your eyes
I saw in your eyes
And saw the kind of friends
And realized the type of friends
You meant
You really were
I think I'm gonna take the cure
I'm going to stop drinking
I'm going on the wagon for sure
I'm definitely going to stop drinking alcohol
I may feel a fool
I might feel stupid
For a Sunday or two
For a short period of time
But it's better than a Sunday with you
But it's still better than being around you
Wake up I've got news for you
I have information you should know
Nobody's knocking at your door
No one wants to be around you
Nobody's gonna pull you through
No one is going to come to your rescue
Nobody needs you anymore, yeah yeah
No one cares about you anymore
Nobody's knocking at your door
No one is looking for you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JANIS IAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind