In 1991, Crystal Waters co-wrote and had a massive hit with “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless).”
The track — in which Waters invented the “la da dee la da dee” refrain over an infectious disco beat remains a high water mark in dance music. But Waters also recalled in a 2023 interview, the song was about a homeless woman.
Now Katy Perry has taken most of “Gypsy Woman” and co-opted it for a single called “I’m His, He’s Mine.” She’s changed the entire meaning of it, from something profound into nonsense
Luckily, no one cares. “I’m His, He’s Mine” debuted overnight at numbe5 27. It’s her third single that’s gone DOA from a new album coming next week. Perry is in trouble, and this is kind of a mess.
Of course, at the MTV Video Music Awards, the audience cheered when they heard the opening notes of “Gypsy Woman.” They thought Perry was doing a straight cover. They’re too young to get the idea.
Waters said in that interview, by the way: “I felt the song needed to tell a story and was reminded of a woman who used to stand outside in Washington. She had full face makeup and always dressed well, but she sang gospel songs in the street and had a hand out asking for money. Homelessness was really bad in DC at the time and at first my attitude had been: “She needs to get some work.” Then the local paper did a story about how she had lost her job at a cosmetic counter and fallen fast, but she felt that if she was going to ask for money she would look clean and respectable. Her story changed my whole opinion about homelessness, so I sang her life in the song: “She wakes up early every morning / Just to do her hair / Because she cares y’all.”
Now Perry sings:
I’m his queen, I’m his freak
I’m every woman he wants and needs
I’m his dream, I’m his drug
I’m every woman he wants, so what?
I’m his boss, I’m that bitch
I’m every woman he knows exists
I’m his main, I’m his side
I’m every woman that’s in his mind
Yikes. I don’t know what happened to Katy Perry. Her whole comeback album seems like gigantic mistake, from using Dr. Luke as a producer to the whole theme of the songs. I fear this will end in tears.
