Expert: Bong Santos - 5/21/2007

Question
I'm looking for a copy of a song that, first of all, I can't identify! I'm not sure if it's a 70's or 80's song. Unfortunately, I don't know much of the words! All I remember is:

"... here I am/alone again and free.../... the joke was on me..."

Although I know the melody, I most certainly can't hum it to you! :-)

Anyway, it's a very slow song by a lady who sounds very much like Lisa Angelle, the country singer who did the Beauty and The Beast TV Series soundtrack "The First Time I Loved Forever" with Ron Perlman. In fact, the song sounds very much like "The First Time I Loved Forever". It WAS often played by a certain "Love Radio" in Manila. I'm not sure if the station is still on air today.

I hope you can help me. Thanks so much.

Answer
Dear Church,

It's a 70's song actually. The artist was singer-songwriter-actress KATHE GREEN and the title of the song is ALONE AGAIN AND FREE from her self-titled album released 1976. KATHE GREEN provided the singing voice of a young MARK LESTER in the 1968 musical movie OLIVER! The plot of a ghost singer was kept a secret for a long time until it was revealed in 2004 or 36 years after the movie was released. Here's its lyrics:

ALONE AGAIN AND FREE / KATHE GREEN

Here I am
Alone again and free
Yet everyone in town wants to go out with me
But there is no one there
That i would like to see
I'm home again and free.

Here I am
alone again and free
Waiting for a special man to call on me
And there's nowhere else
that I would rather be
Except home again and free.

Refrain:
I've been a restless girl
I've lived past half my life
On the road trying to be free
Makin' sure that no one ever needed me
Or is it that I didn't want to meet anyone at all?

So here I am again
Where I said I'd never be
Waiting for the man I love to call on me
And how strange I feel
Now the joke's on me
'Cause I'm here again
Alone again
And I guess I'm not so very free.

Maraming salamat po!!

BONG M. SANTOS
Manila, Philippines