Like Tales of the Unexpected
Another pop song which tells a story
The lyrics are here, and this song Angie Baby was a hit in the 70s, written and performed by popular female singer Helen Reddy.
As a young girl, when I listened to the words of this unusual song, I was both fascinated and thrilled. I was at a stage when anything which mentioned the taboos of sex or lovers, I eagerly stored its information away like a squirrel’s precious haul of nuts in autumn. I listened to this avidly on my red transistor radio — a recent birthday present.
It mentions mental health — referring to Angie as a special lady. She’s a girl without friends who is taken out of school for being too disruptive. ‘Touched’ is a non-PC phrase, but in the decade when the song was written and performed, it was a term for mild insanity without any intent to cause offence. In the current climate the term ‘special’ has been overused to the point where it has become offensive rather than showing understanding of a people’s differences.
Angie lives through the songs on her radio as if they were a portal to another world.
That’s also how pop music felt to me back then. I had older siblings, so was more tuned into the rock/pop music culture than my school friends, although I didn’t yet understand the love and heartbreak which many songs depicted.
This song has a narrative which, as I listened, played out like a drama with a supernatural /fantasy element. Angie’s parents indulge her dependence on the music from her radio, only asking her to turn it down at night time. But in the song they are out of the area leaving Angie alone and vulnerable. A neighbourhood boy who’s been spying on her breaks into her room to ‘dance’ with Angie.
The music, which has always been her saviour, becomes Angie’s protector. The boy is quickly disoriented and disabled by the volume of the music of her radio and the spell it seems to weave. When Angie turns the radio dial lower, he feels himself shrinking until he disappears. Reminiscent of a pulp-horror novel, the boy is never seen again, leaving the rest of the neighbourhood to wonder where he’s gone. Angie still encounters him however, referring to him as her lover. Of course nobody believes the accounts of a ‘special’ girl who lives in a ‘world of make-believe’.
What I didn’t understand because I was a child, was the terrible danger of a delinquent pubescent boy breaking into a vulnerable girl’s bedroom. I sensed there was a threat, a menace to his actions but was mostly hazy on the risk or its consequences. What I enjoyed was Angie getting the upper hand and turning the tables on the boy’s original evil intent. She wields the power and traps him into servitude to her.
It’s as if the boy becomes a genie in Angie’s magic lamp (her radio).
The story encapsulated in the lyrics unfolds like an episode of Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl. Could Angie have otherworldly powers, rather than being a ‘special lady’. If you haven’t heard the song, I hope you’ll give it a listen or and see for yourself. If you have heard it, refresh your memeory and please let me know if you like it, or share your interpretation of the fantastic lyrics.
I originally wrote this post for the meme #4ThoughtsandFiction when the topic was Nightmares/Dreams. The song Angie Baby made a big impression on me when I was younger, so it seemed an ideal one to feature. I was also participating in the September Song Project so my posts featured pop songs from my digital playlist.
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