The Hidden Meaning of Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors'

Music

Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" is one of the best pop ballads ever written. Lauper didn't write the song, but she said it came from an earnest place in her life.

Published on December 24, 2023

The bets music is honest. Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” is one of the best pop ballads ever written. Lauper didn’t write the song, but she said it came from an earnest place in her life. The tune was also covered by one of the biggest alternative artists of the past 10 years.

Cyndi Lauper’s ‘True Colors’ was a tribute to her abused friend

“True Colors” was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, the same team behind Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” During a 2014 interview with The Denver Post, Lauper discussed what she was thinking when she sang her most famous ballad. “When I recorded that song, a very good friend of mine was dying from AIDS,” she said. “He had a horrific childhood. He had been abused.

“The main reason he was abused was because he was gay,” she added. “He became homeless really young. When he was dying, he asked me to record a song so that he would not be forgotten. He was a beautiful person. A really kind and gentle soul who was told from a very early age that he was no good. That who he was as a person was not acceptable. And that just wasn’t true.”

The “She Bop” singer said the song was for many people, not just her friend. “So I sang the song for Gregory and for everyone who has been rejected for being who they are or for anyone who feels unloved,” she said. “I think that it still resonates today because unfortunately we still have bias and we still have bullying. Maybe we have even more bullying because people can be cruel behind a computer instead of having the [guts] to say something ugly to someone’s face.”

Cyndi Lauper felt the song honored her friend’s memory

The “Time After Time” singer wishes the world could have moved beyond prejudice and celebrate everyone’s differences. She said acceptance was the message of her Broadway musical Kinky Boots.

In a 2019 Interview article, Lauper discussed how “True Colors” resonated with people. She recalled the time a fan came to her when she was doing a sound check for the song. The fan told her that “True Colors” inspired him and he gave her a rainbow flag in tribute.

Afterward, Lauper wore the flag around her shoulders. She felt she had honored Gregory’s memory. She felt “True Colors” was like a “healing song.”

The lasting legacy of ‘True Colors’

Lauper identifies heavily with the LGBTQ community. She feels she’s been close to the community her entire life. Like her contemporaries Whitney Houston and Madonna, Lauper has widely been embraced as an LGBTQ icon, partly due to “True Colors.”

“True Colors” has been covered by Marina, formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds. Marina changed some of the lyrics, but she kept the ballad’s sensitive tone intact. Lauper’s vocals are a tough act to follow, but Marina made “True Colors” her own.

“True Colors” is one of the most moving ballads of the 1980s and Lauper said it came from the heart.

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