"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (also released as "Gypsy Woman (La da dee la da da)") is a song by American singer-songwriter Crystal Waters from her debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Surprise'' (1991). Written by Neal Conway and Waters, the song was released on April 3, 1991, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album. It is famous for its "la da dee, la dee da" refrain and its often-sampled keyboard riff, and is now widely regarded as one of the biggest classics of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, being remixed several times since its release. "Gypsy Woman" was a commercial success upon release, peaking at number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Gypsy Woman" topped the charts in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, as well as on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

. The song also peaked within the top ten of the charts in at least eight countries, including Germany, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top 20 of the charts in Australia and France. In 2020, '' Slant Magazine'' ranked "Gypsy Woman" number 10 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time". And in 2022, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' and ''

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

'' featured it in their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" and "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".

Background

Crystal Waters grew up in a very musical family. Her great aunt,

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

, was a famous singer and actor in the 1940s. Waters' father was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician and her uncle was the lead saxophonist with

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom ...

. At age eleven, she began writing poetry and was inducted into the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

when she was 14, the youngest person ever to receive that honor. After studying business and computer science at university, she worked for the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

government, in the computer division, issuing arrest warrants. A workmate's cousin owned a recording studio and Waters found out that it was looking for

backup singers A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

. She went to the studio, got a job, and became a writer and backup singer. At a conference in Washington, D.C., she met the house-music production team

Basement Boys The Basement Boys is an American house music production team that was formed in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The founding members are Jay Steinhour, Teddy Douglas and Thommy Davis. Biography The Basement Boys had all previous experience as ...

. They wanted her to write some house songs for them while keeping her jazz influences. Thomas Davis from the Basement Boys told in a 1991 interview, "It was a great combination of influences. Crystal brings a background of jazz and blues to her music, which blended well with our various ideas." The first two songs she wrote were "

Makin' Happy "Makin' Happy" is a song by American singer and songwriter Crystal Waters, released in 1991 as the second single from her debut studio album, '' Surprise'' (1991). It was the follow-up to Waters' hugely successful song " Gypsy Woman" and achie ...

" and "Gypsy Woman".

Writing and release

"Gypsy Woman" was written by Waters with Neal Conway and was originally written for the American singer

Ultra Naté Ultra Naté Wyche (born March 20, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and promoter who has achieved success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free", " If You Could Read My Mind" (as part of Stars on 54), and "Autom ...

, but when Waters recorded a demo herself, the production company drew up a recording contract for her on the spot and never passed the song to its intended vocalist. The song is about a homeless woman who wears make-up and thinks of herself as beautiful despite busking on a street corner. The song includes the chorus of "La da dee, la da da" and a much-sampled organ

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

. It was released as the first single from her 1991 debut album, '' Surprise''. Waters began working on the song after receiving beats from her producers she was supposed to write lyrics over. It was the song's heavy bass line that inspired her to riff "la da dee la da da" overtop of the rhythm, but she had trouble coming up with lyrics to match those short syllables. "I said to myself there must be someone singing it, and I thought of this woman ... she used to stand downtown on the corners, and she was dressed in all black," she told the Glitterbox Radio Show in 2017. In a 2016 interview, Waters expanded on the story behind the lyrics for the song: Even though the sound was a huge dance hit, Crystal Waters wanted people to listen to the lyrics about homelessness. She actually was upset that they weren't listening to the lyrics. At her prompting, the record company put a label with the addition of "She's Homeless" on the cover. A year after its release, a new version turned up on the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's ''

Red Hot + Dance ''Red Hot + Dance'' is an album produced by the Red Hot Organization, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness to fight the onslaught of HIV/AIDS. Pop star George Michael was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition and ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

fundraiser disc (1992, distributed by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

), gaining its remixer,

Joey Negro David Russell Lee (born 18 June 1964) is an English DJ and house music producer, formerly known by the stage name Joey Negro, which he retired in July 2020 following the George Floyd protests. He has released music under a variety of pseud ...

, his first real American exposure.

Critical reception

"Gypsy Woman" received favorable reviews from most music critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Alex Henderson wrote that it "made it clear that

could be as socially aware as

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

". He described it as a "wildly infectious treasure", noting further that it has a "poignant and moving reflection on a homeless woman's struggle that makes its point without preaching." David Taylor-Wilson from ''

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' felt that it "will undoubtedly go down as the quintessential song of the summer."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from '' Billboard'' remarked that the "inspired deep house dish" has already begun to explode at club level, "thanks to Waters' unique vocal and a hypnotic hook and groove crafted by hot production team the

. Expect extensive radio action nseveral formats momentarily." He also declared it as "pure musical magic." A reviewer from '' Cashbox'' stated that by the time the single reached record stores, "it was already a big hit." Marisa Fox from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' constated, "You just can't escape this summer's runaway hit song, the jazz-house hybrid 'Gypsy Woman' .. She hums in an airy, scat-like fashion about a woman 'who's just like you and me but she's homeless…and she stands there singing for money.'" Dave Sholin from the '' Gavin Report'' commented, "Exciting and totally fresh, this track broke out of the New York club scene and found its way onto

HOT 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared ser ...

. APD/MD Kevin McCabe reports out of the fifty 12-inches he researches each week, it debuted at #3! Kevin says the response is across-the-board with teens requesting it, as well as women 30+ who call in Middays, asking for the song that goes, 'Dah dah dee dah dah dah.' It charts at #16, getting eight plays a day. Also debuted at #29 on KMEL and

POWER 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studi ...

with adds at WTIC/FM, WIOQ/FM, and

Z100 New York WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial top 40/CHR station licensed to Newark, New Jersey and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, WHTZ is the flagship station for '' Elvis Duran and the Morning Show''. The WHTZ studios ...

. 'Do I love it? YEAH!'" ''Lennox Herald'' viewed it as "a detailed account of the day-to-day life of a homeless woman in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' said "the "La Da Dee La Da Da" bit of this dance track is especially and undeniably catchy. Mainland Europe is next." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' wrote that the "insidious" chorus "can be a little wearing after a while, but there's enough promise in the verses, both melodically and lyrically to suggest that Waters can be a bright new star." A reviewer from ''

Reading Evening Post The ''Reading Post'' (until 2009, the ''Reading Evening Post'') was an English local newspaper covering Reading, Berkshire and surrounding areas. The title page of the paper featured the Maiwand Lion, a famous local landmark at Forbury Gardens. T ...

'' called it "infectious". James Hamilton from the '' RM'' Dance Update stated that "this Basement Boys produced strange haunting plaintive girl chanted and keyboards jabbed frisky Italo-type canterer has a madly catchy "la da dee, la de dah" chorus". David Fricke from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' felt that the "deliciously nagging" chorus was "indisputably the Hook of the Year. The heartbeat propulsion and Morse-code keyboard line did the rest." He commented further, "A rather vapid lyric reduction of the sorrow and tragedy of homelessness ..was nevertheless a rare bright spot of originality and blessed simplicity amid a '91-long plague of Identikit house records and overwrought remixes. ..Still, for those fab few minutes of "Gypsy Woman" ..Waters reigned as this year's

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

." Scott Poulson-Bryant from '' Spin'' wrote that "with its nursery-rhymish hook and accessible cultural concern, this hypnotically danceable track has insinuated itself into the pop consciousness with an almost dreamy forcefulness". Irish '' Sunday World'' described it as "instantly catchy".

Chart performance

"Gypsy Woman" peaked at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and went to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. "Gypsy Woman" also earned Waters three

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...

nominations. In the United Kingdom, "Gypsy Woman" debuted at number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on May 12, 1991 – for the week ending date May 18, 1991. The following week, the song peaked at number two on the chart, becoming Waters' highest-charting song in Britain. It also soared to the number one position on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...

. Retitled "Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee)", the song was the highest-debuting single for a new act on the UK Singles Chart at that time. Its debut at number three on the chart was later eclipsed by Gabrielle's "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

" entering at number two in June 1993, then by

Whigfield Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 ...

's " Saturday Night" debuting at the top of the chart in September 1994. In the rest of Europe, "Gypsy Woman" also peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. "Gypsy Woman" was awarded with a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

in the United Kingdom for 400,000 singles sold and in the United States after 500,000 units were sold. When the song was coming down in the chart rankings, it appeared on the benefit album ''

'' in a new incarnation mixed by

, who took the song into a new musical direction.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Gypsy Woman" was directed by American film director, writer, and producer Mark Pellington. It shows Waters performing in front of a white background. In most of the video, she wears a black suit, but some scenes also show her wearing a white suit. Three men in blue, green and red shirts are dancing. Occasionally a "gypsy woman", wearing a theater mask and gold gloves, can be seen holding a handheld mirror while putting on lipstick, dancing under a street light or lying on a park bench. Throughout the video, there are shots of rotating playhouses, falling banknotes, mannequin hands hanging in threads, and spinning umbrellas, some with the chorus written on them, making the words spin with them. A short glimpse of a burning dollhouse appears, and as Waters sings the last stanzas, the screen goes completely white again. The music video uses the edited version of the Basement Boys "Strip To The Bone" mix. It was later published on Waters' official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in October 2009, and had generated more than 68 million views as of January 2023.

Impact and legacy

'' Slant Magazine'' ranked "Gypsy Woman" 10th in its "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list in 2006, writing, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' mentioned it on their "A History of Modern Music: Dance" in 2011. ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' featured it in their "15 Songs That Gave Dance Music a Good Name" in 2013, describing it as "such a mixture of vibes" and "funky". BuzzFeed ranked it number 13 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017.

Stopera The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and ...

and Galindo said, "Problematic title. Great song. A classic."

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...

included it in their official list of "The Ibiza 500" in 2020. ''

'' featured it on their lists of "The 30 Best House Tracks of the ’90s" and "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2022. Same year, ''

'' ranked it number 58 in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".

Accolades

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Track listings

* CD single #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Strip To The Bone Radio Edit) — 3:42 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Hump Instrumental Mix) – 4:53 * Slimcase international CD maxi #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Strip To The Bone Radio Edit) — 3:42 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Basement Boy "Strip To The Bone" Mix) – 7:26 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Hump Instrumental Mix) – 4:53 * CD maxi single #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Strip To The Bone Radio Edit) – 3:42 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Basement Boy "Strip To The Bone" Mix) – 7:26 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Red Bone Club Mix) – 7:08 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Hump Instrumental Mix) – 4:53 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" ("Give It Up" Vocal Mix) – 8:07 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Give It Up Bonus Beats) – 2:43 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Original Demo Mix) – 7:00 #"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Acapella) – 2:37

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1990 songs 1991 debut singles Crystal Waters songs Deep house songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Fictional Romani people Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Mark Pellington Music Week number-one dance singles Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Switzerland Sam Sparro songs Eleni Foureira songs