Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three and, in 1934, found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Her box office popularity waned as she reached adolescence, and she left the film industry in her teens. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid-to-late teens, and retired completely from films in 1950 at the age of 22. She was the top box-office draw four years in a row (1935–38) in a Motion Picture Herald poll.
Temple returned to show business in 1958 with a two-season television anthology series of fairy tale adaptations. She made guest appearances on television shows in the early 1960s and filmed a sitcom pilot that was never released. She sat on the boards of corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation. In 1988, she published her autobiography, Child Star. Temple was the recipient of awards and honors including Kennedy Center Honors and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Temple ranks 18th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female American screen legends of all time.
Temple began dance classes at Meglin's Dance School in Hollywood in 1931, at the age of 3. Her film career began when a casting director from Educational Pictures visited her class. Although Temple hid behind the piano in the studio, she was chosen by the director, invited to audition, and, eventually, signed to a contract with Educational.
Temple worked at Educational from 1932 to 1933, and appeared in two series of short subjects for the studio. Her first series, Baby Burlesks, satirized recent motion pictures and politics. In the series "Baby Burlesks", Shirley would dress up in a diaper, but then be wearing adult clothes everywhere else. The series was considered controversial by some viewers because of its depiction of young children in adult situations. Her second series at Educational, Frolics of Youth, was a bit more acceptable, and cast her as a bratty younger sister in a contemporary suburban family.
While working for Educational Pictures, Temple also performed many walk-on and bit player roles in various films at other studios. She is said to have auditioned for a lead role in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies (later known as The Little Rascals) in the early 1930s; various reasons are given for her not having been cast in the role. Roach stated that Temple and her mother were unable to make it through the red tape of the audition process, while Our Gang producer/director Robert F. McGowan recalls that the studio wanted to cast Temple, but they refused to give in to Temple's mother's demands that Temple receive special star billing. Temple, in her autobiography Child Star, denies that she ever auditioned for Our Gang at all. However, Temple had some connection with Our Gang in that Temple's carpool friend, David Holt, had a small role in the 1933 Little Rascals film Forgotten Babies.
Temple was finally signed to Fox Film Corporation (which later merged with 20th Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox) in late 1933 after appearing in Stand Up and Cheer! with James Dunn. Later, she was paired with Dunn in several films.
Temple would stay with Fox until 1940, becoming the studio's most lucrative player. Her contract was amended several times between 1933 and 1935, and she was loaned to Paramount for a pair of successful films in 1934. For four solid years, she ranked as the top-grossing box office star in America. Shirley's birth certificate was altered to hold on to her babyhood; her birth year was advanced from 1928 to 1929. She was not told her real age until her twelfth (actually thirteenth) birthday.
Her popularity earned her both public adulation and the approval of her peers. Even at the age of five, the hallmark of her acting work was her professionalism: she always had her lines memorized and dance steps prepared when shooting began.
Temple also made pictures with Carole Lombard, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou, and many others. Arthur Treacher appeared as a kindly butler in several of Temple's films.
Temple's ability as a dancer (especially a tap dancer) is well known and celebrated. Even in her earliest films she danced, and she was able to handle complex tap choreography by the age of five. She was teamed with famed dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Just Around the Corner. Robinson also coached and developed her choreography for many of her other films. Because Robinson was African-American, and the South was replete with racism, his scenes holding hands with Temple had to be edited out in many cities in the South.
Aside from the films, there were many Shirley Temple product during the 1930s. Ideal's numerous Temple dolls, dressed in costumes from the movies, were top sellers. Original Shirley Temple dolls bring in hundreds of dollars on the secondary market today. Other successful Temple items included a line of girls' dresses and hairbows. Several of Temple's film songs, including "On the Good Ship Lollipop"(from 1934's Bright Eyes), "Animal Crackers in My Soup" (from 1935's Curly Top) and "Goodnight My Love" (from 1936's Stowaway) were popular radio hits. She frequently lent her likeness and talent to promoting various social causes, including the Red Cross.
Temple was the first recipient of the special Juvenile Performer Academy Award in 1935 for recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment in 1934. Seventy years later, Temple is still the youngest performer ever to receive this honor, or any Oscar. She is also the youngest actress to add foot and hand prints to the forecourt at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Oh My Goodness
Shirley Temple Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm so sad that I could cry
With a very good reason why
I've no one to be gay with
That's why I wear a frown
No children I can play with
London bridge is falling down
I wanna make mud pies
In fact I'd like to be a mess
I wanna make mud pies
I know that I'd find happiness
If I got jam on my fingers
Chocolate on my face
And molasses all over my dress
You're the only friends I've ever had
But one minute you're good
And the very next minute you're bad!
At times I ought to hate you
You make me feel so blue
But honest I can't hate you
When you smile at me the way you do
Oh, my goodness!
Sometimes I want to leave you
You tell such awful lies
But I could never leave you
When I look into those great big eyes
Oh, my goodness!
I love you, do you love me
Honey, if you don't, why don'tcha
Honey, if you won't, why won'tcha
Am I gonna have trouble with you?
I really ought to scold you
You'll have me old and grey
But when it's time to scold you
I hold you in my arms and say
Oh, my. Oh, my...
Oh, my goodness!
Zometimes I ought to hashe you
You make me veel zo blue
But onest I can't hashe you
When you zmile at me, my lovely poupchen
Ach, mein gootness!
You are my ev'ry ting-a-vitch
You're like a day in spring-a-vitch
And you make my heart sing-a-vitch
Looky-looky-looksky, here comes trotsky
Oh, chah chornya
I lovee you, do you lovee me
Maya-kaya-kow-kow see see
Eenie-meenie mo-guss meenzie
Am I gonna have ta-louble with you?
Honey child, I really ought to scold ya
You'll have your mammy old and grey
Pickaninny, when it's time ta scold ya
I just hold ya in my lovin' arms and say
Oh, my-- heidi, heidi, heidi, hi!
Oh.... my goodness
The song "Oh My Goodness" by Shirley Temple is a reflection of a child who is feeling lonely and sad because she has no one to play with or share her happiness with. The song is filled with a mix of emotions - from being happy and wanting to play to feeling sad and wanting to cry. She talks about wanting to make mud pies and get messy because that's where she can find happiness, but at the same time, she is sad that she does not have anyone to play with or share this happiness with. She also talks about her only friends being fickle and unreliable, and how she cannot hate them even when they make her feel blue.
The song is a beautiful portrayal of the naivety and innocence of a child's emotions. It captures the longing for companionship and the joy of being messy and carefree. The lyrics are an expression of the child's innermost feelings, something that is not always easy for children to articulate. The song also reflects the theme of resilience in the face of loneliness, and the child's ability to find joy in simple pleasures despite her sadness and feelings of isolation.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh me, oh my
I am very sad and upset
I'm so sad that I could cry
I am extremely sad
With a very good reason why
There is a clear and valid reason for my sadness
I've no one to be gay with
I don't have anyone to have fun with
That's why I wear a frown
That is why I look unhappy
No children I can play with
I don't have any playmates
London bridge is falling down
I am sad and the world seems to be falling apart
My fair lady
I am addressing someone politely
I wanna make mud pies
I want to have fun and make a mess
In fact I'd like to be a mess
I want to be covered in dirt and food
I know that I'd find happiness
I believe I would be happy if I made a mess
If I got jam on my fingers
If I got sticky and messy fingers from food
Chocolate on my face
If I had chocolate smeared on my face
And molasses all over my dress
If I had syrup all over my clothes
You're the only friends I've ever had
You are my only friends
But one minute you're good
You can be nice one minute
And the very next minute you're bad!
And then mean the next
At times I ought to hate you
Sometimes I feel like I should dislike you
You make me feel so blue
You make me very sad
But honest I can't hate you
But I can't bring myself to dislike you
When you smile at me the way you do
You make me feel happy and forget all the bad things
Sometimes I want to leave you
Sometimes I feel like I should leave you
You tell such awful lies
You say untruthful and hurtful things
But I could never leave you
But I could never bring myself to leave you
When I look into those great big eyes
When I see your innocent eyes and feel your love for me
I love you, do you love me
I have feelings for you, do you feel the same way?
Honey, if you don't, why don'tcha
My dear, if you don't feel the same, can you tell me why?
Honey, if you won't, why won'tcha
My dear, if you won't love me, what's the reason for it?
Am I gonna have trouble with you?
Can I expect difficulties and problems from you?
I really ought to scold you
I should tell you off
You'll have me old and grey
You will age me and make me feel old before my time
But when it's time to scold you
But when the time comes to tell you off,
I hold you in my arms and say
I calm down and show you love instead
Oh, my. Oh, my...
I am surprised and shocked
Oh, my goodness!
I am overwhelmed or surprised
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY REVEL, MACK GORDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Reg
on I'm Gettin Nuttin for Christmas
This isn't Shirley Temple. She was 27 and long retired from show biz when it came out in 1955. The voice is Barry Gordon's, backed by the Art Mooney Orchestra.