Hey lady, you, lady, cursin' at your life
You're a discontented mother and a rich inventive wife
I've no doubt you dream about the things you'll never do
But I wish someone had a talked to me like I wanna talk to you

Ooh I've been to Georgia and California, oh, anywhere I could run
Took the hand of a preacher man and we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places and friendly faces because I had to be free
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

Please lady, please, lady, don't just walk away
Cause I have this need to tell you why I'm all alone today
I can see so much of me still living in your eyes
Won't you share a part of a weary heart that has lived a million lies

Oh I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece
While I sipped champagne on a yacht
I moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo and showed 'em what I've got
I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things
That a woman ain't s'posed to see
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

Hey, you know what paradise is? It's a lie, a fantasy we create about
People and places as we'd like them to be but you know what truth is?
It's that little baby you're holding, and it's that man you fought with
This morning, the same one you're going to make love with tonight
That's truth, that's love

Sometimes I've been to cryin' for unborn children
That might have made me complete
But I, I took the sweet life and never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet
I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that cost too much to be free
Hey lady, I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

I've been to paradise, never been to me
(I've been to Georgia and California, and anywhere I could run)
I've been to paradise, never been to me
(I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece
While I sipped champagne on a yacht)
I've been to paradise, never been to me
(I've been to cryin' for unborn children)

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I've Never Been to Me Lyrics as written by Ronald N. Miller Kenneth W Hirsch

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here's a review of it i wrote for a magazine called Dummy. the key point of the review is that it was written by two men. i love the song because it's so wrong, especially as it's men writing that women should stay at home. this wouldn't get released these days, for better or worse.

Charlene Never Been To Me In the mid ‘70s women were only just getting the freedoms they deserved. So the tales that Charlene is relaying on this country-pop epic seem particularly exciting. Swanning around the globe, she romps with preachers, gets undressed by kings and sees some things that “a woman ain’t supposed to see” (what, like a bloke lighting his farts?). It all sounds like the perfect life after the oppression of your apron-ed mother. But oh no, Charlie is moaning — she’d swap it all for the “unborn children that might have made me complete.” Not only that, she wants to tell disconcerted mothers and regimented wives that they should stay home and let their husbands have their joyless fumbles. Rather odd take on this new freedom, wouldn’t you think? Well not when you take into account a couple of facts. Firstly, Charlene went on to record an album of Christian songs after this was a belated hit. And ‘Never Been To Me’ was written by — of course — a couple of men. So it’s puritanical, patronising and sexiest — which is exactly why it’s sounds so good in these days of inoffensive pop. Morality tales are a relic of another musical age, as is the delicious voyeurism derived from songs based around stories. A couple of years later AIDS would hit and Charlene would no doubt feel vindicated. But as the strings soar around her breathy vocals, pop music has never sounded sexier. Now, where can we find a king to undress us — the champagne’s getting warm and the yacht is about to set sail.

here's a review of it i wrote for a magazine called Dummy. the key point of the review is that it was written by two men. i love the song because it's so wrong, especially as it's men writing that women should stay at home. this wouldn't get released these days, for better or worse. Charlene Never Been To Me In the mid ‘70s women were only just getting the freedoms they deserved. So the tales that Charlene is relaying on this country-pop epic seem particularly exciting. Swanning around the globe, she romps with preachers, gets undressed by kings and sees some things that “a woman ain’t supposed to see” (what, like a bloke lighting his farts?). It all sounds like the perfect life after the oppression of your apron-ed mother. But oh no, Charlie is moaning — she’d swap it all for the “unborn children that might have made me complete.” Not only that, she wants to tell disconcerted mothers and regimented wives that they should stay home and let their husbands have their joyless fumbles. Rather odd take on this new freedom, wouldn’t you think? Well not when you take into account a couple of facts. Firstly, Charlene went on to record an album of Christian songs after this was a belated hit. And ‘Never Been To Me’ was written by — of course — a couple of men. So it’s puritanical, patronising and sexiest — which is exactly why it’s sounds so good in these days of inoffensive pop. Morality tales are a relic of another musical age, as is the delicious voyeurism derived from songs based around stories. A couple of years later AIDS would hit and Charlene would no doubt feel vindicated. But as the strings soar around her breathy vocals, pop music has never sounded sexier. Now, where can we find a king to undress us — the champagne’s getting warm and the yacht is about to set sail.

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jameskendallon August 13, 2010 Link
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