Girls just want to have fun.
Cyndi Lauper has revealed why she was “asked to leave” – on two separate occasions – the Catholic school she attended as a child.
“Listen, I can’t even read a regular book without a piece of white paper underneath every line,” Lauper, 72, told Gracie Abrams during Rolling Stone’s latest “Musicians on Musicians” feature published Friday, Oct. 17.
“I don’t know if that’s because I got hit in the head with a lot of erasers. I have no idea,” the music icon added. “I went to Catholic school, but we had a lot of political differences, so I was asked to leave.”
After the “True Colors” icon was asked to leave “twice, once in third grade, and then again in fourth grade,” Abrams, 26, wondered if Lauper had been booted from school for “talking.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” the Grammy winner joked. “For talking back.”
Lauper, who is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s upcoming inductee class, previously opened up about her turbulent younger years during an interview with People in 1984.
Because she ran away from home at the age of 17, the future “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” hitmaker was forced to get a high school equivalency diploma.
“I spent years not accepting who I was,” she told the outlet at the time. “In high school, I felt out of step. Everything became unreal for me. I felt there just wasn’t any room for me in this world.”
“But you can’t escape yourself. ‘Why was I alive?’ I’d ask,” Lauper continued. “I didn’t fit in, didn’t have nobody to do things with that I liked. I did them by myself.”
But more recently, the “She’s So Unusual” artist acknowledged that she’s “still learning” more than 40 years later – especially when it comes to songwriting and the ever-changing music industry.
“Sometimes you write something, you’re like, ‘Wow, look at what we did! Genius!’ Then the next day you listen and go, ‘What the heck were you thinking?’” Lauper told Abrams during their chat.
“It’s always like that,” she concluded, “but ain’t that what we do?”
The “Time After Time” singer, however, is still able to surprise her countless fans four decades after making it big in 1983.
Over the summer, while performing the final show of her farewell tour, Lauper brought out longtime friend and fellow superstar Cher, 79, for a memorable rendition of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
“You’re the queen,” she told the “If I Could Turn Back Time” songstress after their duet at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 30.
“No, you’re the f–king queen,” Cher responded.
Despite finishing the last show of her farewell tour, Lauper clarified that that doesn’t mean she’s throwing in the towel.
“I’m supposed to be doing ‘Working Girl’ after the tour,” she told People in March regarding the musical adaptation of the 1988 flick. “That’s what I’ve basically been doing for 10 years. The weird thing about the Broadway thing is it takes a long time.”
“So, it’s not like I’m not going to be working,” she added. “I’m just not going to be touring. Touring is a whole different animal.”