Young girls don't think about the trouble they can get older guys into when they dress, behave and lie about their ages. I always liked this song because he told her to go away!
Shawn, you handled that very diplomatically. 😄"Lady Willpower", "Over You", "Woman Woman", and "This Girl is a Woman Now", I hope you'll react to them in the future. Gary Puckett is still touring on the "Happy Together Tour" that Mark Volman, (from The Turtles), has kept afloat since 1984. Thanks, Shawn!! 😁
"This Girl is A Woman Now" by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap is one of my all-time favorite songs from them. they are one of my all-time favorite Rock bands!!! I am so happy that you answered one of my request from the is band. Enjoy!!!!
Gary Puckett has to be one of the most underrated singers of his time! What an amazing big voice! Yeah this song's subject matter is way controversial , but it got people's attention! I could listen to this guy's voice all day long. He's one of those guys whose voice doesn't match the way he looks lol, like Rick Astley
Shawn, don't fall into the same trap as so many with lazy ears have done for decades. The lyrics are NOT weird or creepy. Yes, he's tempted because he's a normal male who has clearly been duped by a 16 or 17 year old girl who with makeup, older looking clothes, and a probably more "developed" body than most girls her age was able to pass as a legal-aged girl. After some time when he gets hooked, he finds out and as soon as he does, he does the RIGHT thing and makes several statements to push her away. The last hesitation at the end is understandable ("...before I have the time to change my mind, 'cause I'm afraid we'll go too far") for a man who's dealing with a girl who's 17, not 7. Let's be honest...the singer is likely not too much older, but older than 18. He has probably already developed some romantic emotions for this young lady -- and THAT"s what makes him feel momentarily and understandably conflicted and torn as he is dealing with the sudden onset of the news sinking in.
Even at 81, from last read, Puckett is still movin' along. Great vocals and his band The Union Gap were just fantastic back in the day. Love all their songs..🎤🎶👍
1968 was a different time girls dated a bit older boys I always loved Gary Puckett and the Union Gap I think they were underrated.Great song ,Great band,Great memories.Loved your reaction.💗🎶🎵
Follow this up with "This Girl Is a Woman Now”. I was in 7th grade when this song was released, anyone listening back then knows it was the era of mini skirts, fish nets, go-go boots, and heavy makeup (Twiggy style)… all the young teens were dressing way beyond their years (we put the makeup on at school, our mothers were against the trends of the time)! No one gave lyrics like this a second thought back then.
I grew up listening to all this classic music from the 60's. Gary Puckett & The Union Gap had a lot of great songs such as "Woman, Woman", "Lady Willpower", "Over You", "Don't Give In To Him, "This Girl Is A Woman Now" & "Let's Give Adam & Eve Another Chance". This music brings back good memories for me.
I love their music 🙂 I was happy to see this! I met Gary Puckett briefly after a “Happy together” tour a few years back. He is a super nice guy & I got my picture with him. We also saw him with some other groups in a concert a couple months ago. He can still sing! You will love any of his other songs! I really like his song “Over you” Thanks Shawn!
You are completely correct in your assessment of the lyrics. That era had a number of songs that are a little creepy in retrospect, though growing up in the culture of that era it didn't seem creepy then. I mean, I was 10 when this was popular, so it didn't seem strange to me. But there were songs like this one, for instance Bobby Vee's song Come Back When You Grow Up, Girl. Also, there were far too many fellows in their 20s and 30s singing about 16 and 17 year old girls, back in the 50s, 60s, and into the early 70s. Songs like 16 Candles, She Was Only 16, You're 16, Happy Birthday Sweet 16. Yeah, by the time I was in my 20s I was questioning the appropriateness of this men/girls thing in music.
Those songs about 16-year-olds are about reaching or being of the age of consent (in most states) to date boys they go to school with, though some don't explicitly say so and most (but not all) of the singers were over 21. But they were marketed and sold as singles on cheap 7" records primarily to teenagers. Albums were marketed to adults.
I never understood why so many people get freaked out about this song. The guy in the song was duped and is trying to do the right thing sending her far away. The character in the song is a young male and like all young males at that age mostly one thing on their mind - so he is being honest and acknowledging his weakness while begging her to leave. So I see nothing creepy in this make believe song. However on the other hand in real life I graduated high school in 1976 and I know of at least a half dozen teacher- student affairs that were going on that were never caught. And a couple of those were girls I knew who were the aggressors and went after the teacher or coach. I don’t condone just stating facts. Heck we used to smoke pot with some of the teachers.
Young girl could just mean a teenager just a few years younger than a young adult male. He's emphasizing that she's just a girl and not a fully grown woman. How many young men wouldn't be tempted by a teenage girl who throws herself at him. He's doing his best to protect her and himself from doing the wrong thing. Although I'm probably the only person who looks at the song this way.
You're not alone. I've always thought the lyrics of this song have been misinterpreted by those with lazy ears for decades. If they REALLY listen, the singer is trying to do the RIGHT thing by pushing the underage female away as soon as he realizes she is too young to be seeing him.
You're right. While pedophiles seek out girls like the one this song describes and don't care if they're legal or not, she's still a high school junior/senior but went after an older guy and either lied about her age or hoped he never asked. I was 12 when this song came out and 13 years later it happened to me.
You’re 100% right. I was 11 years old when this song was popular and I really liked it. And then I heard it once when I was much older and I had one of those, wait, what? moments.
The year 1987, the place Germany. I was performing an additional duty called „Dorm Guard“ on a weekend (all non-commissioned officers did this on a rotating basis). While performing my „rounds“ (walking through the dorm making sure all is ok and no one is causing trouble). I came across a room that was having a little party. Parties were ok as long as any music being played couldn’t be heard through the closed door and into the hallway. This room was pretty loud and as others had to work the next day and needed their sleep I knocked on the door to tell them to turn the music down. While making this request I saw that there were 2 civilian German females with them…dressed to party. Normally there wouldn‘t have been a problem but this time the girls seemed to be a little too young so I asked them for their ID‘s. The guys in the room thought the girls were 19 and 20 but their ID‘s said….12 and 13!!! Even I was surprised!! I thought they might have been 17 or 16 but they were so young! Needless to say I had them escorted off the base by security police. And the guys learned not to rely on appearances especially in Germany. That was many years ago…I wonder if it still happens????? Cheers
Different times to a degree. Eyebrows would have been raised back then too, but now it's considered much more serious than it was. Don't know why but my mind flicked to a song called Little Children, by Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas. The singer is wanting to make some progress with an older sister but her young siblings are getting in the way. It got to number 1 in the UK, perhaps its worth a spin?
This footage looks like the Ed Sullivan TV show,would have been mono. Someone overdubbed the Stereo version to this video. Gary Pucket and the Union Gap appeared to go to the early teen girls demographic. Songs like this one, Lady Willpower, and This Girl Is Woman Now seem to go right up but not over the underage girl theme. They wanted to be more than just a prepubescent band. Their label Columbia Records kept them making these songs. They were hits and sold well. I have played these tunes on the air for years, still think they are kinda creepy.
I'm 66. We had some creepy songs in the 60's, but they didn't seem so at the time. A couple of others off the top of my head: "Turn around, look at me" by the Vogues. "Run for your life" by the Beatles. Both great songs musically.
This song represents a time when young women (i.e. girls) DID date older men, and the only people who really had a problem with it were the fathers and brothers of those girls ... and a lot of MEN who understood the kind of problems it caused. However, that was then, and even now, much to your surprise, it's not illegal in many states and areas around the world. Men married women as young as 10 years old, and it's only gotten "taboo" (not illegal everywhere) in the past few decades, where laws have been passed to prevent it. However, in this song, the singer is telling you he doesn't approve of it but was tricked by a "young girl" who passed herself off as much older ... something I've seen all my life.
He wasn't allowed to sing the real lyrics on Ed Sullivan hence the mismatch. Yeah, we didn't make that much of it in the 60s. It was just a girl trying to deceive him but failed. Things were simpler.
I used to call them Gary F**ck It and the Union Crap in the late 80's and 90's because the oldies stations where I lived played their songs a lot and more than many of the other 60's bands lol. I like them more now than then and I thought they were alright then. Gary had and still has a great voice and any of those hits that you mentioned would be worth reacting to also.
You have to remember this was sung in a much more innocent time. Pedophilia was not rampant as it is today. Pedophilia was not at all accepted as it is becoming today. This was an innocent song and did not bring up the same feelings as it might today.
@@rubrokenOf course it’s not acceptable. The dark side has been trying to legalize it and they throw it in our faces anywhere you look. It’s everywhere.
Not sure that it wasn't rampant back then, they were different times, such behaviour was less likely to be reported, we live in a much more open society now. As for your suggestion that it is becoming acceptable today, that is just complete nonsense.
My first love was 5 yrs older than my 14 yr old self at that time..LOL..I ended up marring my husband of 54 yrs who is also five years older than me..depends on the girl..
If there's such a thing as a crush on a voice, I had one on his! Girls making themselves look older than they are is obviously nothing new. Niether is being tempted and having to choose to exercize moral/ethical restraint. But apparently once girls hit that "magical age," restraint is no longer necessary. In Lady Willpower, which sounds very similar to this one; he's the one doing the seducing!
Your critical reaction to the lyrics is legitimate. When the song came out, the band found itself embroiled in a heavy controversy and accused of encouraging immoral behavior. However, there was a misunderstanding of the lyrics and Gary Puckett quickly explained it. In the middle of the Peace & Love period, with this song the band wanted on the contrary to position itself in opposition to an attitude that seemed reprehensible to them. The narrator of the song, discovering the age of the young girl, refuses to continue the relationship, despite the deep feeling he still has for her. In short, he chooses to follow the path of awareness of good rather than that of instinctive pleasure. In other words, this song is a non-violent denunciation. Thanks.
They had some good hits, though the melodies weren't very distinct from each other in some cases and GP had a very appealing voice. I think GP may still be popular on the oldies circuit.
Sure, it was a different time, and yes in some states the age of consent was 13 or 14 yrs old for girls, but that's really not the point of the song. Back in the 1960s and 70s, I also saw that younger men had to be careful with females who presented themselves as something they weren't--like older than they really were. No, it was not acceptable, and yes, it meant jail, just like now. The whole message of the song is exactly that---get away from me--it's not appropriate. I think it's a good thing to write a song and sing about such things. Why not? Why the sensitivity to it? Just be real about it, because it's a real thing that can happen.
You think this one is a little questionable by today's standards? Try listening to 1973's "Summer (The First Time)" by Bobby Goldsboro. Musically it's entrancing. Lyrically it's a reverse take on the Lolita theme, and ends a lot differently than "Young Girl".
Well ya its not live. But then again most are not. But people like you do not realize it. Because people like me that have heard many great song many times. Know when its a studio album song dubbed in on an older vid. It is getting to the point that its the new norm. And fewer are real recordings of an appearance. So enjoy while other old farts like me just chuckle to ourselves knowing the truth.
Their songs had a theme - love between an older man and a young girl. I always struggled with their songs, as I loved the music but disliked the words.
I knew some girls who would lie about their age to get a date with an older guy they liked. I would think it still happens today. Are we suppose to pretend it doesn’t or didn’t happen?
This is one of those songs that you just kind of sang along at the time, but you listen to it now and you're thinking OMG, It's up to the girl to leave because the man can't control himself. I guess if he did 'go too far' it would be her fault?
One of the better Johnny Mathis imitators. Try the far better original with Johnny doing the live black and white version of "It's Not For Me To Say", and his recordings of "Chances Are", "Misty", "Wonderful Wonderful", and of course his great Christmas renditions of "Winter Wonderland" and "Sleigh Ride".
I've loved this song since it first came out -- still do, really. But let's face it, these lyrics would likely never made it today. By 2024 standards, it's kinda creepy -- no matter that the singer rejects what the "young girl" is offering.
@@betseyr.9081It wasn’t innocent then, but there was a definite “ don’t talk about it attitude “ back then towards sex. There was also an unwavering trust factor that teachers, priests, police and your elders were always in the right and to show them respect, and I believe many took advantage of that in an inappropriate way.
it is cringy now to listen to it but back in the 60"s it was normal for young girls to marry and 16 and 17 was not looked upon as criminal for being the age of a bride.
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Young girls don't think about the trouble they can get older guys into when they dress, behave and lie about their ages. I always liked this song because he told her to go away!
What a nasty, creepy comment! Males are responsible for their own behaviour. WTAF.
Creep.
Shawn, you handled that very diplomatically. 😄"Lady Willpower", "Over You", "Woman Woman", and "This Girl is a Woman Now", I hope you'll react to them in the future. Gary Puckett is still touring on the "Happy Together Tour" that Mark Volman, (from The Turtles), has kept afloat since 1984. Thanks, Shawn!! 😁
"This Girl is A Woman Now" by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap is one of my all-time favorite songs from them. they are one of my all-time favorite Rock bands!!! I am so happy that you answered one of my request from the is band. Enjoy!!!!
💯
Gary Puckett has to be one of the most underrated singers of his time! What an amazing big voice! Yeah this song's subject matter is way controversial , but it got people's attention! I could listen to this guy's voice all day long. He's one of those guys whose voice doesn't match the way he looks lol, like Rick Astley
Shawn, don't fall into the same trap as so many with lazy ears have done for decades. The lyrics are NOT weird or creepy. Yes, he's tempted because he's a normal male who has clearly been duped by a 16 or 17 year old girl who with makeup, older looking clothes, and a probably more "developed" body than most girls her age was able to pass as a legal-aged girl. After some time when he gets hooked, he finds out and as soon as he does, he does the RIGHT thing and makes several statements to push her away. The last hesitation at the end is understandable ("...before I have the time to change my mind, 'cause I'm afraid we'll go too far") for a man who's dealing with a girl who's 17, not 7. Let's be honest...the singer is likely not too much older, but older than 18. He has probably already developed some romantic emotions for this young lady -- and THAT"s what makes him feel momentarily and understandably conflicted and torn as he is dealing with the sudden onset of the news sinking in.
Very well said!
Even at 81, from last read, Puckett is still movin' along. Great vocals and his band The Union Gap were just fantastic back in the day. Love all their songs..🎤🎶👍
1968 was a different time girls dated a bit older boys I always loved Gary Puckett and the Union Gap I think they were underrated.Great song ,Great band,Great memories.Loved your reaction.💗🎶🎵
Great band fronted by a guy with an exceptional voice,they made loads of great music!😎
Follow this up with "This Girl Is a Woman Now”. I was in 7th grade when this song was released, anyone listening back then knows it was the era of mini skirts, fish nets, go-go boots, and heavy makeup (Twiggy style)… all the young teens were dressing way beyond their years (we put the makeup on at school, our mothers were against the trends of the time)! No one gave lyrics like this a second thought back then.
Lady Willpower
I grew up listening to all this classic music from the 60's. Gary Puckett & The Union Gap had a lot of great songs such as "Woman, Woman", "Lady Willpower", "Over You", "Don't Give In To Him, "This Girl Is A Woman Now" & "Let's Give Adam & Eve Another Chance". This music brings back good memories for me.
Yes please to these suggestions
I love Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. Love this song. They have a lot of good songs. Next try Women.
Love these guys. Hey, I didn't lie to my Jim, he knew I was 16. We married when I was 17. He was 27. 😂 Lost him 5 years ago after 41 years together.
There is town called Union Gap, WA. Gary Puckett is such a good singer.
I love their music 🙂 I was happy to see this! I met Gary Puckett briefly after a “Happy together” tour a few years back. He is a super nice guy & I got my picture with him. We also saw him with some other groups in a concert a couple months ago. He can still sing! You will love any of his other songs! I really like his song “Over you” Thanks Shawn!
Somehow, our high school got the Union Gap to play at some event. They were quite good live.
Gary Puckett vocals are so beautiful you have to listen,even if you don't like the songs content.
I love Gary Puckett, this song is my favorite by him & his band. He’s got a great voice, very soft.👍🥰💛
One of my favorite bands of the day.
You are completely correct in your assessment of the lyrics. That era had a number of songs that are a little creepy in retrospect, though growing up in the culture of that era it didn't seem creepy then. I mean, I was 10 when this was popular, so it didn't seem strange to me. But there were songs like this one, for instance Bobby Vee's song Come Back When You Grow Up, Girl. Also, there were far too many fellows in their 20s and 30s singing about 16 and 17 year old girls, back in the 50s, 60s, and into the early 70s. Songs like 16 Candles, She Was Only 16, You're 16, Happy Birthday Sweet 16. Yeah, by the time I was in my 20s I was questioning the appropriateness of this men/girls thing in music.
"Come Back When You Grow Up, Girl”, great song.
Those songs about 16-year-olds are about reaching or being of the age of consent (in most states) to date boys they go to school with, though some don't explicitly say so and most (but not all) of the singers were over 21. But they were marketed and sold as singles on cheap 7" records primarily to teenagers. Albums were marketed to adults.
One of the great voices.
I never understood why so many people get freaked out about this song. The guy in the song was duped and is trying to do the right thing sending her far away. The character in the song is a young male and like all young males at that age mostly one thing on their mind - so he is being honest and acknowledging his weakness while begging her to leave. So I see nothing creepy in this make believe song. However on the other hand in real life I graduated high school in 1976 and I know of at least a half dozen teacher- student affairs that were going on that were never caught. And a couple of those were girls I knew who were the aggressors and went after the teacher or coach. I don’t condone just stating facts. Heck we used to smoke pot with some of the teachers.
Exactly!
Young girl could just mean a teenager just a few years younger than a young adult male. He's emphasizing that she's just a girl and not a fully grown woman. How many young men wouldn't be tempted by a teenage girl who throws herself at him. He's doing his best to protect her and himself from doing the wrong thing. Although I'm probably the only person who looks at the song this way.
You're not alone. I've always thought the lyrics of this song have been misinterpreted by those with lazy ears for decades. If they REALLY listen, the singer is trying to do the RIGHT thing by pushing the underage female away as soon as he realizes she is too young to be seeing him.
You're right. While pedophiles seek out girls like the one this song describes and don't care if they're legal or not, she's still a high school junior/senior but went after an older guy and either lied about her age or hoped he never asked. I was 12 when this song came out and 13 years later it happened to me.
This was so true to life for me… stunning, true and beautiful. ❤
Great song. starting out in a dramatic fashion.
Shawn, another group called “ The Delfonics! “ Song…” Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time, “ Will blow your mind! 👍💜
"Over You"--their best song
You’re 100% right. I was 11 years old when this song was popular and I really liked it. And then I heard it once when I was much older and I had one of those, wait, what?
moments.
The year 1987, the place Germany. I was performing an additional duty called „Dorm Guard“ on a weekend (all non-commissioned officers did this on a rotating basis). While performing my „rounds“ (walking through the dorm making sure all is ok and no one is causing trouble). I came across a room that was having a little party. Parties were ok as long as any music being played couldn’t be heard through the closed door and into the hallway. This room was pretty loud and as others had to work the next day and needed their sleep I knocked on the door to tell them to turn the music down. While making this request I saw that there were 2 civilian German females with them…dressed to party. Normally there wouldn‘t have been a problem but this time the girls seemed to be a little too young so I asked them for their ID‘s. The guys in the room thought the girls were 19 and 20 but their ID‘s said….12 and 13!!! Even I was surprised!! I thought they might have been 17 or 16 but they were so young! Needless to say I had them escorted off the base by security police. And the guys learned not to rely on appearances especially in Germany. That was many years ago…I wonder if it still happens????? Cheers
Great song😂
merci de nous remettre en mémoire ce titre superbe!... j'adore..
The young girl was deceiving him!!!
Incredible voice!
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap has four or five real good songs you could probably Google his top hits you'll be glad you did
Different times to a degree. Eyebrows would have been raised back then too, but now it's considered much more serious than it was.
Don't know why but my mind flicked to a song called Little Children, by Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas. The singer is wanting to make some progress with an older sister but her young siblings are getting in the way. It got to number 1 in the UK, perhaps its worth a spin?
Eek! Now don't go near the 1963 Steve Lawrence song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, "Go Away Little Girl." 😮
Or Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" -- a classic rock 'n' roller.
Or "Don't Stand So Close to Me" by the Police.
@@SpuzzyLargo or "Good Girls Don't" or "My Sharona" by The Knack.
You wanna do Lady Willpower next
This footage looks like the Ed Sullivan TV show,would have been mono. Someone overdubbed the Stereo version to this video. Gary Pucket and the Union Gap appeared to go to the early teen girls demographic. Songs like this one, Lady Willpower, and This Girl Is Woman Now seem to go right up but not over the underage girl theme. They wanted to be more than just a prepubescent band. Their label Columbia Records kept them making these songs. They were hits and sold well. I have played these tunes on the air for years, still think they are kinda creepy.
I'm 66. We had some creepy songs in the 60's, but they didn't seem so at the time.
A couple of others off the top of my head:
"Turn around, look at me" by the Vogues.
"Run for your life" by the Beatles.
Both great songs musically.
This song represents a time when young women (i.e. girls) DID date older men, and the only people who really had a problem with it were the fathers and brothers of those girls ... and a lot of MEN who understood the kind of problems it caused. However, that was then, and even now, much to your surprise, it's not illegal in many states and areas around the world. Men married women as young as 10 years old, and it's only gotten "taboo" (not illegal everywhere) in the past few decades, where laws have been passed to prevent it. However, in this song, the singer is telling you he doesn't approve of it but was tricked by a "young girl" who passed herself off as much older ... something I've seen all my life.
Classic bangrrr brother. Top notch reaction man. Loved it ☘️🇺🇲
Hey don’t apologize!!
We love hearing your opinions on the songs you play and react to!!
loved this song when I was younger
He’s got a great voice and the band is great .
But now years later when you really listen to the lyrics it gets you!!
Over You and Woman Woman are my two favorites
dumb fact..... the Union Gap is the name of the small town he lived in for awhile, Union Gap, Washington
He wasn't allowed to sing the real lyrics on Ed Sullivan hence the mismatch. Yeah, we didn't make that much of it in the 60s. It was just a girl trying to deceive him but failed. Things were simpler.
I used to call them Gary F**ck It and the Union Crap in the late 80's and 90's because the oldies stations where I lived played their songs a lot and more than many of the other 60's bands lol. I like them more now than then and I thought they were alright then. Gary had and still has a great voice and any of those hits that you mentioned would be worth reacting to also.
❤❤❤
I recommend you " Lady Willpower " Union Gap, another song where you can enjoy the honeyed voice of Gary Pucket.
He got the idea on the song when his landlady's daughter would listen to his practices. No nothing ever inappriated happened between them.
You have to remember this was sung in a much more innocent time. Pedophilia was not rampant as it is today. Pedophilia was not at all accepted as it is becoming today. This was an innocent song and did not bring up the same feelings as it might today.
Pedophilia never has and never will be acceptable. Where are you going with it being acceptable today? Some internet troll?
@@rubrokenOf course it’s not acceptable. The dark side has been trying to legalize it and they throw it in our faces anywhere you look. It’s everywhere.
It’s twisted but being pushed today. This was in a proper time with decency. What’s happening now is everything but
Try telling that to Ted Nugent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, etc. etc.
Not sure that it wasn't rampant back then, they were different times, such behaviour was less likely to be reported, we live in a much more open society now. As for
your suggestion that it is becoming acceptable today, that is just complete nonsense.
My first love was 5 yrs older than my 14 yr old self at that time..LOL..I ended up marring my husband of 54 yrs who is also five years older than me..depends on the girl..
I was listening to this song before I really knew what all that meant.
If there's such a thing as a crush on a voice, I had one on his! Girls making themselves look older than they are is obviously nothing new. Niether is being tempted and having to choose to exercize moral/ethical restraint. But apparently once girls hit that "magical age," restraint is no longer necessary. In Lady Willpower, which sounds very similar to this one; he's the one doing the seducing!
Your critical reaction to the lyrics is legitimate. When the song came out, the band found itself embroiled in a heavy controversy and accused of encouraging immoral behavior. However, there was a misunderstanding of the lyrics and Gary Puckett quickly explained it. In the middle of the Peace & Love period, with this song the band wanted on the contrary to position itself in opposition to an attitude that seemed reprehensible to them. The narrator of the song, discovering the age of the young girl, refuses to continue the relationship, despite the deep feeling he still has for her. In short, he chooses to follow the path of awareness of good rather than that of instinctive pleasure. In other words, this song is a non-violent denunciation. Thanks.
Age old scenario...
Young female acting older than she is.
They had some good hits, though the melodies weren't very distinct from each other in some cases and GP had a very appealing voice. I think GP may still be popular on the oldies circuit.
The lyric doesn't condone relations with minors. Again, listen to HONEY by Bobby Goldsboro.
Boy do I have a craving for some Cracker Jack's
Sure, it was a different time, and yes in some states the age of consent was 13 or 14 yrs old for girls, but that's really not the point of the song. Back in the 1960s and 70s, I also saw that younger men had to be careful with females who presented themselves as something they weren't--like older than they really were. No, it was not acceptable, and yes, it meant jail, just like now. The whole message of the song is exactly that---get away from me--it's not appropriate. I think it's a good thing to write a song and sing about such things. Why not? Why the sensitivity to it? Just be real about it, because it's a real thing that can happen.
You think this one is a little questionable by today's standards? Try listening to 1973's "Summer (The First Time)" by Bobby Goldsboro. Musically it's entrancing. Lyrically it's a reverse take on the Lolita theme, and ends a lot differently than "Young Girl".
Well ya its not live. But then again most are not. But people like you do not realize it. Because people like me that have heard many great song many times. Know when its a studio album song dubbed in on an older vid. It is getting to the point that its the new norm. And fewer are real recordings of an appearance. So enjoy while other old farts like me just chuckle to ourselves knowing the truth.
Age differences were a little more “fluid” back then. You think this is bad check out “Stray Cat Blues” by the Stones.
OMG, you are SO right! Holy shit.
Whoa..." it hurts to know the truth"..... morelike Gary, run or a charge of statutory rape looms.
Their songs had a theme - love between an older man and a young girl. I always struggled with their songs, as I loved the music but disliked the words.
Thanks for your WOKE opinion on this classic song that is 100,000 times much better than any non-music Rap garbage out today.
The lyrics to this have not aged well.
I liked Gary till I turned 18 then stopped listening. A more innocent time to say the least.
We were far more mature back in the day. And we didn't have tampon dispensers in boys bathrooms.
@@lesblatnyak5947definitely more mature...
I knew some girls who would lie about their age to get a date with an older guy they liked. I would think it still happens today. Are we suppose to pretend it doesn’t or didn’t happen?
He sent her away, what's wrong with that. People have heart attacks about my story.
He doesn't send her away folks, he wants her gone to avoid jail. It's more of an inner dialogue with his conscience.
Very controversial when it came out....
It’s quite a leap to say she was a minor
This is one of those songs that you just kind of sang along at the time, but you listen to it now and you're thinking OMG, It's up to the girl to leave because the man can't control himself. I guess if he did 'go too far' it would be her fault?
The only hit song about paedephlia..
One of the better Johnny Mathis imitators. Try the far better original with Johnny doing the live black and white version of "It's Not For Me To Say", and his recordings of "Chances Are", "Misty", "Wonderful Wonderful", and of course his great Christmas renditions of "Winter Wonderland" and "Sleigh Ride".
I've loved this song since it first came out -- still do, really. But let's face it, these lyrics would likely never made it today. By 2024 standards, it's kinda creepy -- no matter that the singer rejects what the "young girl" is offering.
He seemed to have a thing for young girls, he has other songs like this.
It’s just a song, get over it. You can’t put todays reactions on yesterdays innocence, the culture then just wasn’t as dark as todays.
@betseyr.9081 I know the culture back then, I graduated High School in 1968. I thought it was creepy then.
@@betseyr.9081It wasn’t innocent then, but there was a definite “ don’t talk about it attitude “ back then towards sex. There was also an unwavering trust factor that teachers, priests, police and your elders were always in the right and to show them respect, and I believe many took advantage of that in an inappropriate way.
it is cringy now to listen to it but back in the 60"s it was normal for young girls to marry and 16 and 17 was not looked upon as criminal for being the age of a bride.
This song didn’t age well.
Good song but the lyrics didn’t age well