Papa I know you're going to be upset
'Cause I was always your little girl
But you should know by now
I'm not a baby

You always taught me right from wrong
I need your help, daddy please be strong
I may be young at heart
But I know what I'm saying

The one you warned me all about
The one you said I could do without
We're in an awful mess
And I don't mean maybe, please

Papa don't preach I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind, I'm keeping my baby, hm
I'm gonna keep my baby, hm

He says that he's going to marry me
We can raise a little family
Maybe we'll be all right
It's a sacrifice

But my friends keep telling me to give it up
Saying I'm too young, I oughta live it up
What I need right now is some good advice, please

Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind, I'm keeping my baby, hm
I'm gonna keep my baby, ooh ooh

Daddy, daddy if you could only see
Just how good he's been treating me
You'd give us your blessing right now
'Cause we are in love
We are in love (in love), so please (so)

Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind, I'm keeping my baby, hm
I'm gonna keep my baby, ooh ooh

Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep
Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep
Papa don't preach (Oh, I'm gonna keep my baby)
Papa don't preach (Ooh)
Papa don't preach (Don't stop loving me daddy)
Papa don't preach (I know I'm keeping my baby)


Lyrics submitted by kevin

Papa Don't Preach Lyrics as written by Brian Elliot

Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Papa Don't Preach song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

20 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    General Comment

    dude...how could you not know this song was about teen pregnancy? "but i made up my mind/ im keepin my BABY?" um, duh?

    GoofyGooberon April 03, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Keeping her boyfriend could be "trouble" and "an awful mess" if the her parents didn't approve of him. Ever talk to a Jewish girl trying to date a non-Jewish boy? It's pretty easy to see how that could be confused. I do think that the meaning is straightforward, but I could see how the Kelly Clarkson folks could get it mixed up. Her voice is too young with not enough power to convey the true emotions and vitality of this song. So in that respect, I fully agree with Barefoot.

    Furthermore, I find it remarkably rude to insult another person's interpretation of a song. Keep in mind that it's all poetry and art (not all of it good) and fully open to interpretation. You can only draw on your own experiences when trying to understand the artists mind.

    onelokikittyon January 04, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i just didn't feel the song as strongly with Kelly as i did with Madonna. this song has real meaning and kelly didn't come through with the real emotions it takes to give this song justice. papa don't preach is one of my favorite songs by madonna because it reveals the strength that it takes to stand up for what you think is right, and even though she is young and pregnant, she knows that she has to provide for the baby and even if her father doesn't approve, she is doing what she thinks is right.

    BareFootOnGlasson September 27, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    To Nonny-- then why would the lyrics include "he says that he's going to marry me/and we can raise a LITTLE FAMILY"? It's pretty obvious. Why would keeping her boyfriend be "trouble" and "an awful mess"?

    jessicapalmeron July 26, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is obviously about teen pregnancy.

    babybat16on November 15, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    One of my favorite Madonna songs from the 80s and I think it's one of Madonna's, too. This is what I get from going to her concert. I didn't get to ask her. I think she cut her hair trying to look like a high schooler which she doesn't exactly pull off but it's fine. Tough to lop off practically half your age. The contrast in her video with the sexy temptress and Marilyn image makes it interesting. I recently revisited this song because someone said this was a sad song as her boy friend leaves her. But she's determined to keep her baby regardless (which is a conservative message!). I didn't get that at all from the lyrics.

    harrycallahanon November 12, 2014   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    That one's easy. Yes, it is about a girl who's too young to have a kid, but she's going to keep the baby and not abort it because it wouldn't be right. The "papa don't preach" is "don't preach what you don't practice"; in other words, the girl's dad may have gone through with the same ordeal with the girl's mother. Thank you, Madonna! You go, girl!

    Airazor65on November 23, 2014   Link
  • +1
    Song Fact

    Again, there are many interpretations about Papa Don't Preach mainly because for Madonna, her father tortured and abused her when she was a teenager! Madge Nonnie is still to this day distraught over her mother's death! That's a solemn and sad fact! Madonna Cries in Her Life because she can't get over the heartache and abuse he caused her! In #1 hit Papa Don't Preach, there is a harrowing sadness, anger and rage in Madonna's sad Evita Detroit voice! A Victim of a Kind of Rage in more ways than one! Madonna is enraged in Papa Don't Preach! This song has sadness and meaning! Compared to what blogger Serenity said, Papa Don't Preach is neither stupid nor shallow! It's in fact an angry and sad broadside protest song sung by an artist and a woman who for once does not have any answers, just a nagging sadness and rage! Madonna Forever in Her Brilliance!

    rabbitbunnyon November 24, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this one is pretty obvious.

    Ange*Gaucheon May 03, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I just found out today that this song is about a chick who's pregnant. I thought it was about a boyfriend her father didn't like. Daaaaaamn I really am a blonde.

    SINnocenton June 08, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.