Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves

Song information

"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was the first single from Chér with instrumental backing by L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew. The album was subsequently renamed and re-released as Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves after the success of the single.

Released four years after her last top ten hit "You Better Sit Down Kids", this song was a comeback single for Cher— it was her first single in four years to chart higher than #84 —not only returning her to the top 10 of the charts but also giving her two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1971. It knocked off "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart which had spent the previous five weeks at #1. The single also reached #1 in Canada and #4 in the United Kingdom. It was the first single by a solo artist to rank number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time as on the Canadian Singles Chart. As of November 2011, Billboard reported the digital sales of "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" to be 212,000 in the US.

Story

The song describes the life of a 16-year old girl, the song's narrator, who was "born in the wagon of a traveling show" with her "mama", an exotic dancer, and "papa", a patent medicine salesman posing as a preacher. Though the family endures hearing jeers of "gypsies, tramps and thieves" from the people of the town, the narrator would add that, "every night all the men would come around and lay their money down". One day, the family takes in a 21-year-old man who travels with them from "just south of Mobile" to Memphis. One night during the trip, the man and the narrator secretly have sex (the narrator mentioning that had "papa" found out what the young man had done he would have shot him), and three months after the man leaves the caravan, the narrator is "in trouble". After the narrator's daughter is born, she herself subsequently takes up the storytelling for the next generation (referring to "her mama" and "Grampa"), with the family continuing to support themselves through dancing, selling nostrums and preaching.

The title of this song has also been shown with the alternative, albeit correct spelling of the word "Gypsies". The song was described by Rob Tennanbaum in Billboard magazine as one of the greatest songs of the 20th century.

Live performances

Cher performed the song on the following concert tours:

• Do You Believe? tour (performed as part of the Hits Medley)
• Living Proof: The Farewell Tour (performed as part of the Hits Medley)
• Cher at the Colosseum
• Dressed to Kill Tour
• Classic Cher
• Here We Go Again Tour (only during the Oceanian leg of the tour)

Music video

The video for "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" was Cher's first music video. The video was a recorded performance of the song on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1971. Throughout the video Cher is singing in front of a house wagon and in front of a fire. A second video was made, but it was very similar to the original. In the second video, clips of dancing female gypsies were shown. A promotional video aired on BBC's Top of the Pops in 1971, which features a group of Roma travelling through the countryside. The video follows certain lyrics from the song, ie; "dance for the money they'd throw".

Remix version

In 2002, a special remix medley was created by Dan-O-Rama for a video montage that was used in Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. The medley contains the videos of "All I Really Want to Do", "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed", and "Dark Lady".

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

The song makes an appearance in The Simpsons episode "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" where it is sung by an anesthesiologist named Richie Sakai, a character of one of the shows producers Richard Sakai. It was also used in season 4 of the Netflix series * The Umbrella Academy*, as well as in a scene of the season 1 finale of HBO's * Six Feet Under*.

References

References

1. Mack, Emily. (September 12, 2021). "When Cher Scored a Revival Hit With 'Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves'".
2. Hartman, Kent. (2012). "The Wrecking Crew". [[St. Martin's Press.
3. (November 5, 2011). "Ask Billboard: Cher Information, Yes?".
4. Tennanbaum, Rob. (2017-05-19). "Cher's 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves': Why It's One of the 20th Century's Greatest Songs".
5. (September 10, 2023). "Cher: Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Top of the Pops (November 11, 1971)". YouTube.
6. (January 8, 1972). "Billboard".
7. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".
8. "The Hits of Cher: The Danish Hits of Cher".
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11. DutchCharts. "''Cher - Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves''".
12. "flavour of new zealand - search listener".
13. "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec". [[Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
14. "Cher | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".
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16. "Cash Box Top 100 10/30/71".
17. [https://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40276 Australian-charts.com]
18. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".
19. "UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 1971 - Year End". Official Charts Company.
20. "1971". Longbored Surfer.
21. "Billboard Year-End Charts 1971".
22. [https://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40276 Australian-charts.com]
23. (November 5, 2011). "Ask Billboard: Cher Information, Yes?". [[Billboard (magazine).