Cyndi Lauper is, for the lack of a better word, an unconventional pop star and actress, but that doesn’t mean her music isn’t rich and powerful. “True Colors” is a prime example, but what was her intended meaning behind the song?
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Lauper possessed a love for art since she was young, sporting similar, wild looks at school, foreshadowing her future stage outfits. But between bullying at school and abuse from her stepfather, she fled home and began taking art classes. By the 1970s, she was performing as a vocalist and recorded her first demos in 1978.
Lauper recorded two albums between 1983 and 1986—She’s So Unusual and True Colors. She’s So Unusual hosts “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” one of her most iconic songs, and “Time After Time.” True Colors would feature its title track, which stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1986, gauging an idea of its reach.
The Songwriting
“True Colors” was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The two were an inseparable songwriting duo throughout the ’80s and were the engines behind hits like Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and “So Emotional” by Whitney Houston. They would later go on to work with Celine Dion and Carrie Underwood. Steinberg and Kelly were both inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2011.
The soon-to-be Lauper song was originally meant to go to Anne Murray, but she turned it down. Lauper would agree to record the song because, as she told A.V Club in 2011, “The melody and the words really stuck. I had just lost one of my best friends, who died of AIDS at the very beginning of 1986, and he had wanted me to write a song for him … it was a very healing song.”
What Are The Song’s True Colors?
“True Colors” misleads at first, opening with harrowing, echoing drums before introducing its soft, synth-y keys. Lauper’s voice comes in subdued and wispy, but projects on the chorus.
The song is about seeing past one’s “flaws,” real or not, honoring the true quality of their character.
You with the sad eyes
Don’t be discouraged Oh I realize
It’s hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small
Lauper sings that “color” may not always be perceivable, and it is up to the person’s loved one to support them even through their melancholy on the surface.
But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that’s why I love you
So don’t be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow
Lauper doubles down on her support for her loved one, promising to be on call whenever their struggles weigh them down, for she knows it’s worth it to see this person smile and laugh again.
Show me a smile then
Don’t be unhappy, can’t remember
When I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you’ve taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I’ll be there
The remainder of the song is circular, calling back to past verses and the chorus. Lauper delivers the lines in a variety of ways, be it whispers or belts. Nearing the song’s closing, Lauper’s vocals and the instrumentals swell, as if harkening their loved one’s “true colors” back to the surface using her voice.
The Music Video
Lauper is known for her eclectic, artful looks, and the “True Colors” music video is no exception. It first strikes viewers with Lauper in a moonlit, but mostly dark room, kneeling and facing away from the camera, her arms extended towards the moonlight, illuminating her teased blonde hair, and the colorful streaks mixed in. She begins playing the bongos heard on the song.
Several characters make appearances, such as two women in a canoe atop a sand dune, imagining they’re in the water. Children in marching band uniforms navigate a village of some kind, carrying a black flower tossed to them by Lauper. The video, through its imagery, encourages others to meet their loved ones where they are, whether they have overcome their hardships or not, or working to find their happiness again.
The Impact of “True Colors”
“True Colors” hit No. 1 on Billboard in 1986, spending two weeks in the top spot and 20 weeks total on the chart. The track is tied with “Time After Time” for Lauper’s biggest chart hit. True Colors album would reach No. 4 on the Billboard 200 shortly after its release, tying with She’s So Unusual.
For fans suffering from depression, or other mental health struggles, “True Colors” is a comfort, finding solace in knowing someone like Lauper understands and cares about their struggles.
The song has been covered by artists, including MARINA, Justin Timberlake, and Anna Kendrick for the Trolls movie soundtrack in 2016. The movie, and its original rendition, introduced the song to thousands of young, new fans.
Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
