Conversation so far:
who sang the country song i wish i was a teddy bear
The Teddy Bear Song is a 1973 single made famous by country music vocalist Barbara Fairchild.
who wrote the teddy bear song
The Teddy Bear Song was written by Don Earl and Nick Nixon.
did the teddy bear song chart
Released in December 1972, The Teddy Bear Song was Fairchild's only No. 1 song on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in March 1973.
What is the background on the Teddy Bear Song?
The female protagonist expresses such dismay over poor choices in her life—most notably, a just-ended emotional love affair that ended badly.

Question: How does a bear figure into the story?
Self-contained rewrite: How does a teddy bear figure into the Teddy Bear Song?