Petersen achieved fame in the 1960s, at an early age, by playing Donna Reed's son, Jeff Stone, on The Donna Reed Show. In the early 1980s, he also had a recurring role as a police officer on Matt Houston, and in the late 1990s, he played the author Paul Conway in the film Mother's Day.
Petersen started out in show business at the age of ten when he became a "Mouseketeer" on the Mickey Mouse Club. He was fired within two weeks for disorderly conduct. He was later quoted as saying, "I didn't know a kid actor shouldn't act like a kid." However, he achieved stardom as a teenage heartthrob on The Donna Reed Show, an ABC family sitcom that ran from 1958 to 1966. He played son Jeff Stone from the time he was twelve until he was twenty. In addition, he learned a great deal from Reed while he was growing up on the television set. Above all, he realized that Donna was his favorite actress to date in his business. Petersen sang his sentimental hit song My Dad to costar Carl Betz, who portrayed Dr. Alex Stone, in a 1962 episode of the series. His other costars were Shelley Fabares and his sister Patty Petersen as well as Bob Crane.
He went on to act in many guest-roles, including one as a military officer in the short-lived 1967 ABC western series Custer, with Wayne Maunder in the title role. As the years passed, the television appearances grew increasingly infrequent. Petersen said that too many casting directors do not permit bubblegum stars to grow into adult actors.
Petersen's fame brought recording offers and although his singing voice was limited, he had hit record singles with songs "She Can't Find Her Keys", "Amy", and "Lollipops and Roses", as well as "My Dad" that made #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also recorded during the 1960s for Motown, including the singles "Chained" (later a hit for Marvin Gaye) and "A Little Bit For Sandy."
Difficult times followed his disappearance from the Hollywood spotlight. As a result, Petersen returned to the university and obtained a degree in literature that helped him to write sixteen adventure novels.
Petersen's authorship began after he met David Oliphant, a New York publisher visiting Los Angeles. His first novel concerned car racing. Thereafter, he created a Matt Helm-type hero, Eric Saveman, also known as "The Smuggler." In one year, Pocket Books published eight of his Smuggler novels, earning Petersen $75,000.
In 1977 Petersen's autobiography, Walt, Mickey and Me: Confessions of the First Ex-Mouseketeer, was published.
Petersen has been married 3 times: In 1967, Peterson married actress Brenda Benet; the couple divorced in 1970. In 1974, Petersen married Hallie Littman; they had two children, then were divorced in 1988. Petersen married Rana Jo Platz in 1992.
In 1990, he founded the child-actor support group called A Minor Consideration to improve working conditions for child actors and to assist in the transition between working as a child actor and adult life, whether in acting or in other professions.
He is currently the board member of the Donna Reed Foundation, and works for the Donna Reed Festival, which takes place on the third week of June, every year, in his mentor's hometown of Denison, Iowa.
She Can't Find Her Keys
Paul Petersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't wait to kiss and hold her tight
But by then the time begins to drag
When she starts searching through her bag
"She says just a moment please
I can't find my keys
And here's what happens while he's waiting for her squeeze"
She pulls out
But she can't find her keys "her keys"
Curlers, tweezers, cold creme and candy bars
But she can't find her keys "her keys"
Nail file, school books, an autograph of Fabian
She can find with ease
But I'm standing here waiting for a goodnight kiss
Cause she can't find her keys
"Sha da sha da sha da she can't find her keys"
I give up go home and go to sleep
But next night my date with her I keep
Walk her home we start to kiss and then
It all starts happening again
"She says just a moment please
I can't find my keys
And here's what happens while he's waiting for her squeeze"
She pulls out
Gumdrops, glasses, magazines and tangerines
But she can't find her keys "her keys"
Presley records, hair spray and jelly beans
But she can't find her keys "her keys"
Eyebrow pencils, perfume and potato chips and portable batteries
But I'm standing here waiting for a goodnight kiss
Cause she can't find her keys
"But he's standing here waiting for a goodnight kiss
Cause she can't find her keys"
She pulls out
(Frozen custard, piano bench, pretzels and a monkey wrench
Tennis racket, army cots, pumpkin seeds and coffee pots
Watermelons, goal post, a rabbit's foot and French toast
Fire hydrant, ash can, tv set, electric fan
But she can't find her keys!)
The song "She Can't Find Her Keys" by Paul Petersen is a comical portrayal of a woman who always loses her keys. The song's structure is simple, with a repeated chorus that highlights the things the woman finds in her purse while searching for her keys. When the singer takes his girlfriend home, he eagerly awaits the chance to kiss and hold her tight. However, when she starts searching through her bag, time begins to drag. She pulls out various items such as lipstick, powder, bubble gum, candy bars, curlers, tweezers, and many more, but she can't find her keys.
The repeated chorus "she can't find her keys" suggests that there may be something deeper at play, such as the woman being scatterbrained or disorganized, but the song doesn't explore this further. Instead, the focus is on the humorous situation, and the list of odd items that the woman pulls out is quite entertaining. The song is an amusing description of the frustration of waiting for someone who can't get organized and a lighthearted poke at the absent-mindedness of some people.
Overall, "She Can't Find Her Keys" is a fun and catchy song that captures the frustration of waiting for someone who can't find their keys, and the humorous situation that can arise because of it. The song is full of quirky and unusual items that the woman finds in her purse instead of her keys, which adds to its comedic value.
Line by Line Meaning
When I take my baby home at night
Every night when I drive my girlfriend home
I can't wait to kiss and hold her tight
I am always eager to show affection towards her
But by then the time begins to drag
However, things slow down once we reach her doorstep
When she starts searching through her bag
As she begins to look for something in her purse
"She says just a moment please
She then requests me to wait for a little while
I can't find my keys
As she can't seem to locate her keys
And here's what happens while he's waiting for her squeeze"
This action leads to me waiting longer than expected
She pulls out
She starts taking things out of her bag
Lipstick, powder, bubble gum and bobby pins
She brings out her makeup items, chewing gum and hairpins
But she can't find her keys "her keys"
But she still can't seem to find her keys
Curlers, tweezers, cold creme and candy bars
She then takes out her hair curlers, tweezers, some cream, and candy bars
But she can't find her keys "her keys"
Yet again, her keys remain elusive
Nail file, school books, an autograph of Fabian
She further removes her nail file, school books, and an autographed photo
She can find with ease
She doesn't have trouble finding these items
But I'm standing here waiting for a goodnight kiss
However, I'm left waiting all the while for a goodnight kiss
Cause she can't find her keys
As she still hasn't found her keys
"Sha da sha da sha da she can't find her keys"
She sings a little tune while rummaging through her bag
I give up go home and go to sleep
I eventually get fed up and head home to sleep
But next night my date with her I keep
Although, I still keep my date with her the next night
Walk her home we start to kiss and then
We walk back to her place and begin kissing once again
It all starts happening again
However, history repeats itself
"She says just a moment please
As she again makes me wait for a moment
I can't find my keys
As she, yet again, cannot find her keys
And here's what happens while he's waiting for her squeeze"
This leads to me waiting for a while longer
She pulls out
She starts taking things out of her purse again
Gumdrops, glasses, magazines and tangerines
She brings out some gumdrops, glasses, magazines, and tangerines
Presley records, hair spray and jelly beans
She also takes out Presley records, hair spray, and jelly beans
Eyebrow pencils, perfume and potato chips and portable batteries
Then, she removes eyebrow pencils, perfume, potato chips, and portable batteries from her purse
But I'm standing here waiting for a goodnight kiss
However, I'm still waiting and getting impatient for a goodnight kiss
Cause she can't find her keys
As she still can't find her keys
"But he's standing here waiting for a goodnight kiss
I sing back to her, stating why I'm still waiting for a goodnight kiss
Cause she can't find her keys"
Because she still can't find her keys
She pulls out
She takes out more items from her purse
(Frozen custard, piano bench, pretzels and a monkey wrench
She humorously brings out silly things such as frozen custard, a piano bench, pretzels, and a monkey wrench!
Tennis racket, army cots, pumpkin seeds and coffee pots
She also pulls out a tennis racket, army cots, pumpkin seeds, and coffee pots from her bag
Watermelons, goal post, a rabbit's foot and French toast
She even has some watermelons, a goal post, a rabbit's foot, and French toast in there
Fire hydrant, ash can, tv set, electric fan
Finally, she reveals a fire hydrant, ash can, tv set, and an electric fan
But she can't find her keys!
Despite all these things, she's still unable to find her keys
Contributed by Dylan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@SnowLady_164
I loved the Donna Reed Show. A time when people respected and cared for one another. I'm happy and lucky, to have been a part of that generation.
@salvatoresantoni7111
Say what you want about Paul Peterson and the entire cast of The Donna Reed Show but I'm blessed to have the memories of a very peaceful and innocent time
@goyeabuddy
yes you are right, the '50's & the 1st half of the '60's was a great time to grow up.. everyone looked forward to watch Donna reed, ozzie & harriet, i love lucy & many many more shows like these.
@maureenmcgovern6119
I Loved The Donna Reed Show. We had So much fun just being kids.
@jackcraig4268
@@goyeabuddy What a shame that “Leave It To Beaver” was one of the most criticized and mocked TV Shows………….. why? Because the kids respected their Dad? Paul Petersen himself, in an interview for a “Biography” episode for Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, stated that members of his (and sadly, my) generation used to trash the shows like this
(Including Donna Reed) and then tried to tell their kids in the ‘80s and ‘90’s that they were ‘never part of that movement’.
And Paul Petersen added that
‘The kids see right through it’.
I had a chance to spend about an hour with him in 2016……. what a first-class gentleman!
@user-xx2hj7xb6b
"A very peaceful and innocent time?" Think again, my friend and study your history. Novelty, bubble-gum songs like this belied the discontent and violent roiling just beneath the surface. In the fall of '62, the US and USSR almost came to blows over Cuba. One miscalculation, and those nuclear warheads would have come flying.
@oldiesgeek1
were we really this innocent at one time?...it seems incredible now.
@mgraves9484
We sure could use some of it now!
@Nancy-fm1ie
Paul Petersen had a far greater impact than he knows. He sang the popular song "My Dad" on The Donna Reed Show in 1962. The song's high popularity was significant given that World War II vets now had teenaged children, the babyboomers. Having babies and very young children was very healing for the WWII vets. As children grew and reached the difficult teen years, it's highly probable that the vets felt lonely and unneeded. Paul's song rekindled respect and warmth for the vet dads. Our nation thanks you, Paul. Well done!
@aliceborealis
Are you being serious right now?