Vassar, Phil - Carlene Lyrics






I was lousy at math, failed historian
Carlene was the valedictorian
I was the quarter back in the back of classes
She was the whiz kid in horned rim glasses

It's been a long time since I've been around
Since I stepped foot on my old stomping ground
I ended up by the old school yard
When this red head pulled up in a blue sports car
She said, "I bet you don't remember, I guess it's been forever."
It took a second to put it all together and I said.

Ooh la la la la la
Looking good Carlene
Woh my my my my my
Times been good to you
If you know what I mean
Girl you glitter like hollywood
Good god carlene
You sure are lookin good

She said hop in let's go for a spin
Tell me whatcha been doing boy and where you been
I said I write songs, you probably didn't know, but I
finally got a couple out on country radio
She said, "What a switch, ain't life funny, I've got a PHD,
now I'm modeling for money."
Imagine little miss 4.0 just smiling for the camera on the cover of Vogue
I said you've come a long way since graduation
Let me say without hesitation
You've surpassed everyone's expectations

Ooh la la la la la
Looking good Carlene
Woh my my my my my
Times been good to you
If you know what I mean
Girl you glitter like hollywood
Good god carlene
You sure are lookin good

I said I hope to see you again someday
She said another ten years is too long to wait
Pick me up at my Momma's at eight!

And I said.

Ooh la la la la la
Looking good Carlene
Woh my my my my my
Times been good to you
If you know what I mean
Ooh la la la la la
Looking good Carlene
Woh my my my my my
Times been good to you
If you know what I mean
Ooh la la la la la
Looking good Carlene
Woh my my my my my
Times been good to you
If you know what I mean





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Vassar, Phil Carlene Comments
  1. c.... ....

    So Carlene just happened to be hanging out at her old stomping ground too?

  2. S.... H....

    A kinder and gentler time.....still good stuff 👍🏻

  3. D.... A....

    This song has some the best rhyme scheme i've ever heard.

  4. W.... G....

    Phil will always be the most up beat artist I was fortunate to have meet and know when he started out playing gigs around town. 1991 O'Charley's. Always be positive.

  5. D.... A....

    Gave me an idea or 2. Actually turned one into a novel.....

  6. A.... S....

    Phil will be performing at Arlington Music Hall on January 24, 2020 at www.arlingtonmusichall.net Tickets start at $19

  7. L.... G....

    Carissa this is to you.

  8. A.... S....

    I was lousy at math, a failed historian
    Carlene was the valedictorian
    I was the quarterback in the back of the class
    She was the whiz kid in the horned-rimmed glasses
    It'd been a long time since I'd been around
    Since I'd set foot on my old stomping ground
    I ended up by the old schoolyard
    And this redhead pulls up in a blue sports car and says
    ?I'll bet you don't remember, I guess it's been forever?
    It took a second to put it all together, I said

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

    She said, ?Hop in, let's go for a spin
    Tell me what you been doing boy, and where you been?
    I said, ?I write songs, you probably didn't know
    I finally got a couple on country radio?
    She said, ?What a switch, ain't it funny
    I've got a PHD., Now I'm modeling for money
    Imagine little miss four point o
    Smiling for the camera on the cover of Vogue?
    I said, ?You've come long way since graduation
    Let me say without reservation
    You've surpassed everyone's expectations?

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

    I said, ?I hope to see you again someday?
    She said, ?Another ten years is too long to wait
    Pick me up at my Mama's at eight, ? I said

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

  9. n.... c....

    Dad bod country

  10. B.... K....

    Decade To mygirlfreind clrissa laub yea my family hated her but i loved her we were two lodamage souls looking for love

  11. K.... C....

    im a carlene

    K.... C....

    Kaylee Carlene Counts I love that name

  12. C.... P....

    his singing to mee!

    C.... P....

    Carlene Payne I love that name don’t ask ehy

    C.... P....

    Musicxtu92 thank you

    C.... P....

    Musicxtu92 also this be my school account so you should sub to my real one :Carlene your favorite YouTuber

  13. L.... S....

    Loving you a long time. ♥️

  14. K.... ....

    Phil Vassar is a real country music star. "Carlene" is better than 98% of what they play on "country music radio." A lot of the current batch of " country music stars" cannot hang with Vassar. Not a close call. Looking forward to seeing his show in January (no snow, Dear Lord). BTW, our number one is Vince Gill. He blows away every current "country star" of today. Not even close. Vassar and Gill. Not too shabby.

  15. H.... O....

    Love this song.

  16. l.... b....

    so good

  17. L.... C....

    so apparently its true that you have to watch the mv (music video) to understand EXACTLY what it means...

  18. j.... ....

    Valedictorian at my high school sure didn't look like Carlene, then or now !!!

  19. W.... M....

    Love the scene when that young boy looks at her butt and his mom's face is all scrunched like she's thinking,"She ain't all that!!" Women are always so jealous of each other!!7-25-2019

  20. M.... P....

    He wrote that song about Cindy Crawford 😊

    M.... P....

    Melody Patterson how you know

  21. m.... k....

    This sucks

  22. h.... ....

    Um. Anyone else disappointed to realize that this feel good song is praising a woman for going from smart to pretty? "Surpassed everyone's expectations" and all. I wanna go back in time and delete this song from every young girls playlist. Just not a positive message

    h.... ....

    Yesssssss

  23. J.... H....

    You are my favorite country song you are the goat

  24. D.... Y....

    He said it was based on Cindy Crawford.

  25. K.... M....

    This is the song that I heard on the radio when I fell in love with Phil Vassar's music. Saw him in concert a few times and he can really play that piano like no other. What a hunk of a man.

  26. A.... G....

    Hearing the words Valedictorian in a good old country song is everything to me....

  27. K.... S....

    As someone named karleen I have always loved this song

  28. A.... S....

    Carlene was the valedictorian
    I was the quarterback in the back of the class
    She was the whiz kid in the horned-rimmed glasses
    It'd been a long time since I'd been around
    Since I'd set foot on my old stomping ground
    I ended up by the old schoolyard
    And this redhead pulls up in a blue sports car and says
    ?I'll bet you don't remember, I guess it's been forever?
    It took a second to put it all together, I said

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

    She said, ?Hop in, let's go for a spin
    Tell me what you been doing boy, and where you been?
    I said, ?I write songs, you probably didn't know
    I finally got a couple on country radio?
    She said, ?What a switch, ain't it funny
    I've got a PHD., Now I'm modeling for money
    Imagine little miss four point o
    Smiling for the camera on the cover of Vogue?
    I said, ?You've come long way since graduation
    Let me say without reservation
    You've surpassed everyone's expectations?

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

    I said, ?I hope to see you again someday?
    She said, ?Another ten years is too long to wait
    Pick me up at my Mama's at eight, ? I said

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

  29. C.... B....

    I bet if this song was made today the feminazis would have a field day with Phil Vassar . Sad but its true

  30. T.... C....

    What a great feel good song! Should have been a #1 hit if it wasn't!

  31. M.... L....

    Great song

  32. C.... H....

    I know the school where he's sitting outside of is Percy Warner school I lived not far from there when I lived in East Nashville

  33. D.... J....

    Very underated artist! Problem is people don't know good music anymore

  34. A.... G....

    Just heard this song - 20 years after it´s release. And I´m following country music pretty good... I thought :()

  35. B.... 7....

    I was named after this song.

  36. C.... D....

    My name is Carlene and I wore glasses at school, lol

  37. S.... F....

    What has he been up to lately miss his music from when I was much younger

  38. T.... C....

    Just an awesome tune! If it wasn't #1 in the country, it certainly should have been. One of the best country songs of all time!

  39. A.... L....

    1:58, Be Still, My Heart!

  40. A.... L....

    Phil Looks a Bit Like Joe Montana

  41. i.... ....

    20 years ago!! WOW! Time flies!

  42. C.... C....

    I went to Einstein Bagel yesterday for the first time & ordered caramel hot coffee, the gentleman who took my order made the coffee & I looked at the receipt & he spelt my name correctly Carlene, typically people don’t get the spelling correctly. I thanked him for spelling it correctly & that’s when he told me about this song. I’m 42 & never heard of this song, so I looked it up, it’s lovely & soothing like that cup of caramel coffee 😊

  43. C.... S....

    Ha my song

  44. Z.... Z....

    this music video should have more viewers! it's sad that people can't enjoy good music!

  45. A.... H....

    Phil, at his home, talks about songwriting and performs Carlene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzaQ2RK6sak

    Thanks for your time, Phil!

  46. U.... C....

    I think I read somewhere this song was about cindy Crawford. He went to the same school as her. The producers thought it was weird to have a song about cindy Crawford and changed it to carlene instead of "cindy".

  47. A.... S....

    I was lousy at math, a failed historian
    Carlene was the valedictorian
    I was the quarterback in the back of the class
    She was the whiz kid in the horned-rimmed glasses
    It'd been a long time since I'd been around
    Since I'd set foot on my old stomping ground
    I ended up by the old schoolyard
    And this redhead pulls up in a blue sports car and says
    ?I'll bet you don't remember, I guess it's been forever?
    It took a second to put it all together, I said

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

    She said, ?Hop in, let's go for a spin
    Tell me what you been doing boy, and where you been?
    I said, ?I write songs, you probably didn't know
    I finally got a couple on country radio?
    She said, ?What a switch, ain't it funny
    I've got a PHD., Now I'm modeling for money
    Imagine little miss four point o
    Smiling for the camera on the cover of Vogue?
    I said, ?You've come long way since graduation
    Let me say without reservation
    You've surpassed everyone's expectations?

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

    I said, ?I hope to see you again someday?
    She said, ?Another ten years is too long to wait
    Pick me up at my Mama's at eight, ? I said

    Oo-la-la-la-la-la lookin' good Carlene
    Oh-my-my-my-my-my time's been good to you
    If you know what I mean, girl you glitter like Hollywood
    Good God Carlene, you sure are lookin' good

  48. N.... I....

    it really reminds me the memories when i was in China 2010

  49. A.... A....

    Listening in 2018 :)

  50. J.... B....

    8/25^18 46 today lol 18:53

  51. D.... K....

    I love the Carlene in this video, much so the song itself.

  52. M.... K....

    one of my favorites and how

  53. A.... G....

    the weird thing is my moms name is carlene and she knew phil vassar(barely though) and has bright red hair.

  54. V.... W....

    I am also carlene

  55. J.... J....

    💞Super love this song 💞

  56. m.... ....

    One of my favorite songs

  57. K.... F....

    still one of my favorite and it's now 2018

  58. b.... r....

    Well after reading some of these comments , i reveal a reel fishy secret:: my reel name is Barlene

  59. E.... S....

    Is the girl in the video the same one in Blue Bloods? She looks a lot like her but younger?

  60. w.... g....

    Good song Man, memories.

  61. S.... K....

    Anybody think the valedictorian is hotter than the model ?    ...just sayin' :)

  62. A.... L....

    Great nipple shot at 2:08!

    A.... L....

    Abe Lincoln u. idiot 😂. Lol I love it. 😂😂

  63. J.... M....

    I agree with you

  64. M.... C....

    The one of the best from the 90s

  65. B.... T....

    Love this song; its our song <3

  66. D.... H....

    I miss this innocent type of country music.

    D.... H....

    Dookie Howser Country music when I was younger listing to the radio at night still, hoping your favorite songs would come on

  67. L.... H....

    Haven’t heard this song in a while. Went home singing it. My girlfriend wanted to know who Carlene was!

    L.... H....

    Levi Hayes ^^^ this would be my luck

    L.... H....

    Its cindy crawford

    L.... H....

    Levi Hayes love 💕 it!!! Did you tell her Carlene was the valedictorian? 🔥🔥🔥🔥🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽

    L.... H....

    Carlene is "Little Miss 4.0 Smiling for the Camera on the Cover of Vogue!"

    L.... H....

    Levi Hayes it’s me

  68. J.... P....

    One of my favorite songs to date...it just has that feel good feel to it.

  69. O.... ....

    This is the only country song I know.

  70. P.... L....

    The song was wrote about cindy Crawford

  71. S.... P....

    My shobes name is the exact spelling (Carlene)

  72. J.... M....

    I agree with you

  73. J.... N....

    I normally don't like red heads, but this is one beautiful woman!

  74. R.... W....

    Supposedly the inspiration for they song was model Cindy Crawford who was in fact the valedictorian of her high school class and had an academic scholarship to college before dropping out to pursue her modeling ambitions

  75. b.... f....

    When you had a high school crush that was an A student good high class woman and you set the bar for partying. Dam how things would have been different.

  76. C.... ....

    I was named after this song and just listening to it gives me good memories of my dad playing country music and me jamming out to this particular one bc of obviously my name

  77. C.... ....

    My names Carlene and I hated this song as a kid because I hated my name and my sister would tease me every time it came on lol.

    C.... ....

    Carlene T I think your name is beautiful

    C.... ....

    Musicxtu92 thank you 😊 I like my name now but as a kid I hated it. I think it's because its an uncommon name and I felt weird lol

  78. j.... ....

    Great excellent song, one of my favorites!! And that chick is smoking hot!!!!

  79. B.... M....

    hil phil

  80. C.... M....

    I found this after putting my name into google search haha.

  81. C.... S....

    yes! He's awesome keep it up Phil vasser!

  82. D.... C....

    My favorite male voice

  83. A.... C....

    this song is my favorite song my high school reunion is coming up and I can't wait to see the looks on the guys faces that didn't give me a chance😃

    A.... C....

    Amber Crosl
    and

    A.... C....

    I don't know you but I feel you. I graduated in 1986 and even though I played football through high school I couldn't get a date! Anyway...I went to my 20th reunion as a business owner driving a $130k semi tractor (one of 5 that I own). All of the "popular" (now divorced and used up) girls wanted to know me then! They were all pretty upset when they met my AWESOME wife!

    A.... C....

    Good for you, that's awesome!! Divorced and used up is a good description of the bags I went to high school with now 30 years later.

    A.... C....

    Knock em dead!

    A.... C....

    @Mike Brown that's awesome!!!

  84. C.... D....

    I'm a Carlene too!!! Not many of us around!!

    C.... D....

    My name is Carrianne. I've never met/heard of anyone with the same name.

    C.... D....

    Hey Carlene, from Carleen Lane in Canada

    C.... D....

    No, not too many of us, I wore glasses at school too.

    C.... D....

    Carlene👋👋

  85. M.... ....

    Some serious camel toe show @ 0:11.....my oh my ~ ~

  86. C.... P....

    Omg that is my name

    C.... P....

    You my sister Lol

  87. L.... W....

    I was wondering who sang this song. Damn good one.

  88. C.... C....

    love this song

  89. K.... W....

    Love it....Karlene

  90. R.... E....

    YOU looking good Snuggs! All grown up!!! BEAUTIFUL 💙

  91. C.... ....

    WTH? I've actually heard this song before.

  92. A.... K....

    still love phil in 2016

  93. K.... R....

    He's very cute! :)

  94. A.... M....

    love it

  95. M.... C....

    Whoa...sure didn't expect a country song when i saw the guy before he started singing

  96. C.... R....

    I was named after it now my favorite song

    C.... R....

    How cool. I shared your message with Phil Vassar.

    C.... R....

    This is one of my life stories..it is sung to me sometimes..I love my name..I was named after my dad..Carl Lee..💜..

    C.... R....

    Carlene Richardson that is darling and FABULOUS 🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽yay Carlene Richardson 🔥🔥🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️💕💕🍀

    C.... R....

    Carlene Smith love love love it, Carlene Smith!! ❤️❤️❤️🔥🔥🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽🍀

    C.... R....

    Carlene Richardson I finally found someone with the same name as me wow

  97. D.... N....

    and 6 days after I turned 5 now I'm 11

  98. D.... N....

    that's my sisters name

    D.... N....

    Dez Nuts aaw thx bro

  99. G.... S....

    I see a lot of people have the impression that he was saying there was something wrong with her before and I don't get that impression. Just sounds like he was saying they were really different in high school and now she's really different.

    G.... S....

    i dont see how people would think he said there was anything wrong with her. he NEVER made any disparaging comments, all he said was basically he was a jock and she was a smart girl and now she's a model which most people wouldnt have expected since she was always into the books