"Teddy Bear Song" is a 1973 single written by Don Earl and Nick Nixon, and made famous by country music vocalist Barbara Fairchild. Released in December 1972, the song was Fairchild's only No. 1 song on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in March 1973.[1] The song also became a modest pop hit, peaking at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1973.[2]
| "Teddy Bear Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Barbara Fairchild | ||||
| from the album A Sweeter Love | ||||
| B-side | "(You Make Me Feel Like) Singing a Song" | |||
| Released | December 1972 | |||
| Recorded | June 1972 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Don Earl Nick Nixon | |||
| Producer(s) | Jerry Crutchfield | |||
| Barbara Fairchild singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Song background
editIn "Teddy Bear Song," the female protagonist expresses such dismay over poor choices in her life—most notably, a just-ended emotional love affair that ended badly—that she'd rather revert to the innocence of a department store-window teddy bear, as spoken in the song's main tag line, "I wish I was a teddy bear ..." . The song's lyrics depict the carefree, simple existence of the teddy bear she wishes she were: not having to dream, cry or express other emotion (except for a sweetly voiced "Hi, I'm Teddy. Ain't it a lovely day?" from its pull-string-wound internal phonograph,) have regrets, or feel sorry for herself.
"Teddy Bear Song" was the first in a series of Fairchild songs where childhood themes were used to express dismay over broken relationships and the male-dominated hierarchy of traditional relationships. For instance, the follow-up "Kid Stuff" (a No. 2 country hit for Fairchild in October 1973) plays upon the childhood game of house, where a young woman recalls a childhood memory of how she played the game with a little boy, who dominated the game and was uncaring of her feelings; those feelings are re-triggered when as an adult, she enters into a relationship where the man is the dominant figure and is either ignorant or uncaring when she objects.
Honors
edit"Teddy Bear Song" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Female in 1974, but did not win.
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1972–1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |
| Australian (Kent Music Report)[3] | 28 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 42 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 24 |
Cover versions
edit- Several female country vocalists recorded cover versions of "Teddy Bear Song," including Jean Shepard, Connie Smith, Diana Trask, Barbi Benton and Tanya Tucker.[4]
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 118.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 217.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 107. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Teddy Bear Song" at Allmusic.[1][permanent dead link]
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