true colors

Twenty five years ago, Cyndi Lauper had her last big hit with this torchsong for the downtrodden. Billy Steinberg had originally written 'True Colors' about his mother; but Tom Kelly saw the universal potential in the chorus and helped him rewrite the lyrics. Lauper contributed additional lyrics and did the arrangement with Peter Wood. Steinberg explains: "One of the things that one contends with as a songwriter is that when an artist records your song, unless you're producing it yourself or somehow involved in the production, you have very little input into how the song's being arranged and structured. Sometimes an artist will copy your demo exactly as you present it. That would be the case with 'Like a Virgin' or 'Alone' by Heart - the records copied the demos. In 'True Colors,' more than any other song, Cyndi Lauper came up with a very, very creative departure from our demo. The demo was sort of rooted in the Gospel ballad tradition of a song like 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', 'Let It Be' or 'Lean On Me,' that sort of thing with the piano. Cyndi completely dismantled that sort of traditional arrangement and came up with something that was breathtaking and stark. Tom and I were both elated when we heard her record of it because it was so much more adventurous than our demo, and to her credit, she produced it and did a beautiful job. That song, more than any other song I've written, has had tremendous life. I guess more than any other song that Tom and I wrote, that one seems to have the most universal appeal."

'True Colors' reached number one in the US and Canada, number three in Australia, and number twelve in the UK. It was her last chart topper. Two decades later, Lauper used the song to launch a True Colors Tour for the Human Rights Campaign to promote human rights and raise awareness about hate crimes in the US and beyond with acts like Debbie Harry, Erasure, The Dresden Dolls, the Indigo Girls, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The B-52's, Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, Joan Armatrading, Sarah McLachlan, and Rufus Wainwright. Comedians Margaret Cho, Carson Kresley, Wanda Sykes, Kate Clinton, and Rosie O'Donnell, also took part.

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 fell so small

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

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

And 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