Don't paint Cyndi Lauper into a corner for her bright, poppy hits. For every Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, she has 10 hits like this one, The First Night Without You.

The tune, from 1989's A Night To Remember album, tells the story of coming home for the first night after a painful breakup. Sounds simple but the lyrics drip with agony, hopelessness and despair:

"I sit here like a fool
Remembering everything
The way we used to talk
The songs that we used to sing
I've got to try and leave
The past behind
But my memory's so good
I think that I'm losing my mind."

Read the rest of the lyrics if you dare. You'd have to be less than human not the feel the dagger sliding into your heart. 

Cyndi turns 56 years old today. She has a short tour of concert dates in the works for the summer. (I hope she makes to Florida this time around.) I wish I could give her a big, bear-hug for her birthday. I think we can both use it.

TOP 5 SADDEST CYNDI LAUPER SONGS:

5. I'LL BE YOUR RIVER: "Finding the right one is becoming a science. I'd like to scream but I ain't gonna be heard." [Video]

4. CHANGE OF HEART: "If it's truth that you're looking to find, it is nowhere outside of your mind."[Video]

3. I DROVE ALL NIGHT: "Nothing erases the feeling between me and you." [Video]

2. THE FIRST NIGHT WITHOUT YOU: "Will I be able to sleep? Will I lie in my bed and weep? What if I forget and reach for you? Will I dream about you?" [Video]

1. TIME AFTER TIME: "After my picture fades and darkness has turned to gray. Watching through windows, you're wondering if I'm okay. "[Video]