I'm Gay

There was a time when the word "gay" was commonly used to mean "happy," and there's nothing wrong with that. Bowling for Soup lead singer Jaret Reddick wrote this song, and told Songfacts the story behind it. Said Jaret: "With 'I'm Gay,' I was watching Mary Poppins with my daughter - Emma was super into Mary Poppins. That was her treat after we would get ready for bed, she'd get to watch a few minutes of it, then it would be continued the next night, and then go read books and go to bed. But I think Mary Poppins is talking about how 'gay' the robin is, and she means the robin that's feathering its nest is gay, because it's really happy. And I was like, it's so funny, because I remember being in third and fourth grade and the songs that you would sing in the school back then in music class were super old songs that had been in the school system for 20, 30 years, and they would use words like that. It was like, wonder why that word just sort of went away in its original meaning. I mean, I'm a happy guy, I'm taking it back."