“Why was I called Karen?” I asked my dad one day. He told me it was Danish for Kathleen, the name of my mum. When I looked it up, it was very loosely based on it along with several other names.
As the years went by, I noticed there were no songs declaring their love for Karen. There was a Paula, a Joanna, a Sara and even an Eleanor. No one ever wanted to sing about Karen!
I had a friend who was a singer-songwriter and was bemoaning to him. He went away and wrote one for me. When I went to his rehearsal, I was expecting to hear it. Unfortunately, he said he had changed his mind, and it wasn’t very good after all. No amount of persuading would make him sing it. I was so disappointed!
There is a song that mentions me, just not in the way I would have liked. Rupert Holmes, Our National Past Time ends with him saying – not singing – Karen, that was my mother’s name!
Now we are in 2020 there are still no songs about Karen, and sadly the name has gone out of fashion. Who would declare their love for Karen?
Even books don’t have heroines with that name, so I think I should change my name to Karrin. In fact, I did for a while when I was younger because it sounded more exciting than plain old me.
So if you love fantasy, I would like to recommend… drum roll…
Karrin: Warrior Women by Sahara Foley.
I think it will be nearest I will ever get – unless you know different….?