Laura Bell Bundy is an actress (she starred in the Broadway musical, Legally Blonde) and singer (her debut album, Achin’ and Shakin’, was released earlier this year.)
During an acoustic session for the American Songwriter website, Laura explained how her love for Marilyn Monroe inspired the song, ‘Homecoming Queen.’
The lyric:
“Just me and Norma Jean, doing our own thing,
Making our own heaven
I may not get my way but I will be okay
I still count my blessings…”
And Laura’s explanation….
“It sounds like ‘Homecoming Queen’ is a very personal song for you.
It is. It’s about not needing to be the homecoming queen. I’ve kind of walked to the beat of my own drum. One of the things that I stand for is being true to myself and not judging others for being true to themselves. I think, in that way, this song—people may not hear this and think that, but that’s what it feels like to me.
In the song you sing ‘just me and Norma Jean, just doing our own thing.’ Who’s Norma Jean?
I’ve had kind of an obsession with Marilyn Monroe since I was ten. I have a lot of Marilyn Monroe pictures in my house, and pins, and I have a lot of Marilyn Monroe posters. Between her and Einstein, they’re probably the biggest iconic figures in history that I’m fascinated with. But something about her, there is a kind of a sadness, there’s rockin’ to the beat of your own drum with her, and she created a persona for herself, but who she was at the core was Norma Jean, and she just wanted to be loved. She just wanted to be admired and she searched for love her whole life, but she did her own thing , she didn’t follow normal paths. She didn’t get her way and I might not get my way, but I’ll be okay, because I still count my blessings, you know. There’s something about the vulnerability of her that I really love.
I threw that in there because I was lying on the pillow and it had her face on it while I was writing a song and I had the hook, and I just got a dog and I was trying to find a name for her, and she looks like she has a little eyeliner under her eye. She’s blonde, she’s a Chihuahua, and she’s beautiful. I thought I was going to name her Tammy Faye Bundy, but then I thought it wasn’t fair to name a dog into this world with that name, and I thought, “she kind of looks like Marilyn Monroe!” And Norma Jean, I named my dog Norma Jean. Then I realized I had to write a song, so now when I sing the song, I think about me and Norma Jean doing our thing, just me and my dog, so it has a completely different meaning now.”
To read the complete interview and listen to ‘Homecoming Queen’, go here