Fingernails in the Lyrics: 7 Songs from 1950s to 2015

1. 1950s -- Pat Boone "The Girl That I Marry" (1958)

Pat Boone singing Irving Berlin’s “The Girl That I Marry” evoking a time when polished nails equated virtuous domesticity. “Her nails will be polished and, in her hair/She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there … ” Song is from the 1946 musical, “Annie Get Your Gun.”

2. 1960s -- Barbra Streisand "All That I Want" (1966)

Streisand walks her talk.  “I want to wear mascara, polish my nails real bright/I want to be an actress, actresses play all night”

3. 1970s -- The Eagles "Witchy Woman" (1972)

Don Henley’s first song written as a member of The Eagles in 1972. “Raven hair, and ruby lips/Sparks fly from her fingertips …”

4. 1980s -- Dolly Parton "Working Nine to Five" (1980)

Dolly Parton’s nails don’t make it into the lyrics of this Grammy-winning song for the 1980 movie of the same name … but she used her long acrylic nails in production to mimic the sound of typewriter keys (you can hear them in the beginning!). We thought these instrumental nails should get some credit.

 

5. 1990s -- Smash Mouth "All Star" (1999)

Maybe a future NAILS cover pose? "She was lookin’ kinda dumb with her finger/And her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead."

 

6. 2000s -- Kid Sister "Pro Nails" (2007)

Let's hear it for duo sets! Hip hop artist Kid Sister belts it out: “Got her toes done up, with her fingernails matchin’ ”

7. 2010s -- Mindless Behavior "I Lean" (2013)

Pretty poetic, guys: "Got Her nickname on a her necklace, that's a go. I love the way her polish, make her nails look like they glow. I can tell she fly, when she ain't got nowhere to go."