Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl And I Liked It – A Timely Song

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may
be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well
fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered
the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”

- the opening lines to Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice”

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For anyone who has not been following popular music recently, for the last month Katy Perry’s Single “I Kissed A Girl” has been number one on the iTunes and Billboard charts.  According to Wikipedia, the song hit #1 in over 30 countries around the world.

Some songs reach popularity because they arrive on the scene at a culturally opportune moment.

Some songs reach popularity because they express a common feeling or frustration.

Other songs become popular because they communicate a multi-sensory aesthetic of a particular idea or action.

“I Kissed A Girl” appears to be effectively pushing all of those buttons.

The lyrics of the song struggle with a woman’s decision to kiss another woman.  And while the action is unfamiliar and questioned by the singer, on one point she is clear: 

Whether it was wrong or right, she enjoyed it.

Her proclamation, with some enthusiasm, is that in light of the ethical debates about such an action, she wants it to be known that for her personally, she liked the pleasures she experienced in kissing another woman.

And that simple rebellious note seems to be resonating with many people at this cultural moment in time.

Another interesting aspect of the song is that it doesn’t present the moral dilemma (and it does express it as a moral dilemma) as simply a choice of being exclusively straight or exclusively homosexual.  The narrator of the tale has a boyfriend and is questioning not so much if she is gay, but rather she is questioning whether she might be bisexual (“I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it”).

“I Kissed A Girl” music & lyrics by Cathy Dennis, Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald & Katy Perry

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It’s not what I’m used to
Just wanna try you on
I’m curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don’t even know your name
It doesn’t matter
Your my experimental game
Just human nature
It’s not what good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain’t no big deal, it’s innocent

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right

Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

© All rights reserved by the respective artists.

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“I Kissed A Girl” on Wikipedia

Katy Perry on Wikipedia

You can hear the above song here on Katy Perry’s MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/katyperry

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