Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Cheery Songs About Unintended Pregnancies #4: Madonna--"Papa Don't Preach"

Now we're talking unintended pregnancies with Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach"!

As with Ace of Base's "All That She Wants," I guess there could be some potential ambiguity about the "baby" she's worried about (I've had discussions of this song with people who didn't think it was about a pregnancy), but it seems pretty clear to me that the baby in question is an as yet unborn child, not her lover (although keeping the former is tied up with the latter).

Now some “technical” details. As far as "unintended pregnancies" go, this one was definitely unintended by both parties given that the speaker/singer is clearly young enough to still need to clear this with her father and not just as a kind of formality—clearly much depends upon his blessing (plus her friends tell her she’s too young and that she ought to give it up). Maybe unwanted is a little strong given how she has (apparently) decided to “keep [her] baby,” but given the issue of age in the song, the “unexpected and unprepared for” side of “unintended” is definitely there.

The interesting twist on the “genre” that this song presents is that, rather than working from a perspective divorced from the pregnancy itself--either forecasting it like Ace of Base or looking back on it like Heart, this song's perspective is planted firmly in the middle of the pregnancy. It is less a warning or a story as it is a plea understanding and approval, and the combination of “Papa” and “preach” here highlights the religious (read: Catholic) background to it. This background also leads me to assume that the alternative to "keeping the baby" is giving it up for adoption, but it doesn't explicitly rule out abortion so there's something to chew on next time you hear it.

Lastly, the bassline running through the song has some serious groove to it.

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