"Sally's Pigeons" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album '' She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to ach ...

that was featured on her 1993

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 ...

Hat Full of Stars ''Hat Full of Stars'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released in 1993. The album was released 4 years after the singer's third studio album, '' A Night to Remember'', which received unfavorable reviews and ...

'', as well as the

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

s '' Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some'' and ''

The Great Cyndi Lauper ''The Great Cyndi Lauper'' is a 2003 greatest hits compilation, released by American singer Cyndi Lauper. It contains all of her greatest hits and other noteworthy tracks. It is also the second compilation that contains her soundtrack contribution ...

''. It was released as the album's second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in some countries, and as its third in others. The song was inspired by the story of a childhood friend of Lauper, who in her teens got

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ...

, had a back-alley

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, and died as a result. The song was co-written with

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also ca ...

. Lauper was a childhood fan of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, and as a tribute to him, "Sally's Pigeons" contains references to "

Tiny Dancer "Tiny Dancer" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album '' Madman Across the Water,'' and was later released as a single in 1972. It was ...

," a song that Lauper stated has always make her cry. The song's music video features

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

and

Blaze Berdahl Blaze Autumn Berdahl (born September 6, 1980) is an American actress best known for her roles as Lenni Frazier in the children's television series ''Ghostwriter'' and Ellie Creed in the film ''Pet Sematary'' (1989). Early life Berdahl was bo ...

, the latter portraying Sally.

Critical reception

Mike DeGagne of

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 dat ...

spoke of the song in a review of the ''

'' album, stating, "The title track and " That's What I Think", along with "Sally's Pigeons", make for the most promising of the 11 cuts." In the December 23, 1995, issue of the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine, the song was mentioned in "The Critics' Choice" section, where the magazine's editors and writers chose their top 10 records, videos and live concerts of 1995. Chuck Taylor, the magazine's radio editor, listed Lauper's 1995 compilation '' Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some'' at #6 of his top ten albums, stating, "Kickin' longform video, too. Discover of "Sally's Pigeons" is a high point. Thanks, girl, I had fun." The Daily Vault's Mark Millan said it is a very good song, describing it as "heart wrenching".

Music video

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was made to accompany the song. It featured a then-unknown

. One of the "little girls in pony-tails" described in the song's lyrics is played by former

Ford model Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

Valerie Mendler. Sally is portrayed by

Track listing

;5" CD (Austria 1993) – Epic (Sony) 659138 1 ;7" (Holland 1993) – Epic (Sony) 659138 7 ;CSS (Holland 1993) – Epic (Sony) EPC 659138 4 # "Sally's Pigeons" – 3:48 # "Cold" – 3:29 ;5" CD (Austria 1993) – Epic (Sony) 659138 2 ;12" (Holland 1993) – Epic (Sony) 659138 6 # "Sally's Pigeons" – 3:48 # "Cold" – 3:29 # "Like I Used To" – 4:28 ;5" CD (Austria 1993) – 661000 1 – cardboard re-release after "Hey Now" release. # "Sally's Pigeons" – 3:47 # "Someone Like Me" – 4:03 ;5" CD (Germany 1993) – Epic (Sony) 661000 2 – re-release after "Hey Now" release. # "Sally's Pigeons" – 3:46 # "Feels Like Christmas" – 4:34 # "Someone Like Me" – 4:07

References

Cyndi Lauper songs 1993 singles Songs about abortion Songs about death Songs about birds Songs written by Cyndi Lauper Pop ballads Songs written by Mary Chapin Carpenter 1990s ballads 1993 songs Epic Records singles {{Abortion-stub