I Am Woman

It sometimes seems as though the feminist movement has just began rising these past several years – what with the MeToo movement that’s making waves all over the globe and the resulting increasing awareness to gender inequality.

But actually, the feminist movement is not new at all, and is now in its Fourth Wave stage.

In this e-book I will go through a few songs that are considered musical milestones in the Second Wave of the feminist movement, a stage that took place in the 60s and 70s decades of the last century.

These songs are not only popular and memorable to this day, but also send a powerful message of women’s independence, freedom and strength.

Some Background

First Wave feminism took place during the 19th and early 20th centuries and focused, successfully, on getting voting rights for women.

And even though this was an important step towards gender equality, other types of equality (such as race) were neglected.

Second-Wave feminism dealt with a variety of issues, such as domestic violence, sexuality and reproductive rights, in light of the sexual awakening of the 60s.

Although this wave was also criticized for not representing the struggles of women of color, black women were in the lead music-wise and had a significant contribution to the pantheon of popular feminist songs.

1963

The song “You Don’t Own Me” was actually written by two men, but it didn’t stop it from becoming one of the most iconic feminist songs. It was performed by then-17-years-old singer Lesley Gore (who is mostly known for her No. 1 hit “It’s my Party”). Gore was also a guest on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Lyrics

You don’t own me

When asked about the song, Gore said: “At the time, I know I chose it because I know I liked the strength in the lyric. But, for me, it was not a song about being a woman. It was about being a person, and what was involved with that. Of course, it got picked up as an anthem for women, which makes me very proud.”

John Madara, one of the song’s writers and also a civil rights activist, claimed he was inspired both by the lack of songs depicting women “telling a guy off”, in his words, and by social injustice he experienced himself and the racism he’d seen black people in his community suffer from.

Due to the song’s popularity, it was covered many times since its release. This is a cover by Dusty Springfield, a famous singer during the 60s and an LGBT symbol.

The most famous and new version of “You Don’t Own Me” was released in 2015, the year of Lesley Gore’s death from lung cancer. It was performed by singer Grace and featured the rapper G-Easy and was produced by Quincy Jones, who worked with Gore on several songs, including her original performance of “You Don’t Own Me”. This cover is relatively different from other versions due to its distinct hip-hop influences.

1967

Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” was chosen by Rolling Stones magazine as #5 of the top 500 greatest songs of all time and is also considered a civil rights anthem. The song was actually remade from a song with the same name but the opposite message that was recorded in 1965 by Otis Redding.

The song became a huge hit, only thanks to Aretha Franklin’s performance and the soul she put in it. The words in both version are similar, but while Redding asks and begs to be respected by a woman, Franklin takes a stand as a strong, independent woman who demands to receive the respect she deserves. In her voice, the song spoke of revolution, of black rights and gender equality.

Lyrics

What you want, baby, I got it
What you need, do you know I got it?

All I’m askin’ is for a little respect when you come home
(Just a little bit) Hey baby
(Just a little bit) when you get home
(Just a little bit) mister
(Just a little bit)

I ain’t gonna do you wrong while you’re gone
Ain’t gon’ do you wrong ’cause I don’t wanna

All I’m askin’ is for a little respect when you come home
(Just a little bit) Baby
(Just a little bit) When you get home
(Just a little bit) Yeah
(Just a little bit)

I’m about to give you all of my money
And all I’m askin’ in return, honey
Is to give me my propers when you get home

(Just a, just a, just a, just a) Yeah, baby
(Just a, just a, just a, just a) When you get home
(Just a little bit) Yeah
(Just a little bit)

Ooh, your kisses, sweeter than honey
And guess what? So is my money

All I want you to do for me, is give it to me when you get home
(Re, re, re ,re) Yeah baby
(Re, re, re ,re) Whip it to me
(Respect, just a little bit) When you get home, now
(Just a little bit)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take care, TCB, oh

(Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)
A little respect
(sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)
Whoa, babe
(Just a little bit) A little respect
(Just a little bit) I get tired
(Just a little bit) Keep on tryin’
(Just a little bit) You’re runnin’ out of fools
(Just a little bit) And I ain’t lyin’
(Just a little bit)
(Re, re, re, re) Start when you come home
(Re, re, re, respect) Or you might walk in
(Just a little bit) And find out I’m gone
(Just a little bit) I gotta have
(Just a little bit) A little respect
(Just a little bit)

1971

No. 1 hit “I Am Woman” became a huge success mainly thanks to its singer and writer, Helen Reddy. Reddy was (and still is) a fierce feminist, who was unhappy, to say the least, with the current represantation of women in general, and specificaly in the show buissness.

In an interview about the song, she revealed her inspiration:

“I remember lying in bed one night and the words, ‘I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman’, kept going over and over in my head. That part I consider to be divinely inspired. I had been chosen to get a message across.”

Lyrics

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend
Cause I’ve heard it all before
And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am woman

You can bend but never break me
Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
Cause you’ve deepened the conviction in my soul

Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am woman

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land
But I’m still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand

Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can face anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am woman

I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman

The road to the global success of this song was not easy. Reddy and her husband/manager tried record labels and radio stations, and were rejected time after time. They were often told that the radio was already playing a song by a female artist – there’s no need for another one.

About a year later, when they finally managed to take “I Am Woman” to the top of the chart, Reddy won a Grammy award for it. She caused a controversy when in her acceptance speech she thanked god “because she makes everything possible”.

The message of the song, along with the acts and words of Reddy, helped “I Am Woman” influence and empower women everywhere and made it a milestone both in music and in the feminist movement history.

1972

“You’re So Vain” by Carly Simone may have had less of a feminist influence and message, but it was revolutionary at the time for publicly and shamelessly calling out a man for his bad qualities, with the genious, eternal line: “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you”.

To this day it is not known who was the subject of this song. Simone herself said once it was not written about a particular man but about men in general. Some guesses include Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Warren Beatty.

Lyrics

You walked into the party
Like you were walking on a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf, it was apricot
You had one eye on the mirror
And watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain,
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

Oh, you had me several years ago
When I was still naive
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, you’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

Well I hear you went to Saratoga
And your horse, naturally, won
Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well, you’re where you should be all the time
And when you’re not, you’re with some underworld spy
Or the wife of a close friend,
Wife of a close friend, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, you’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

1978

“I Will Survive” is probably Gloria Gaynor’s most known song, and for a good reason. Suprisingly, it was not written originally about relationships, but according to the writer it is about being fired from his music label. However, Gaynor’s singing took it to a different place, describing a woman finding her strength and moving forward from a difficult breakup.

“I Will Survive” was received by women and later the LGBTQ community with open arms, and became a popular anthem.

Lyrics

The song was a huge success by global standards. It topped charts all over the world and received along the years numerous awards. It was also translated to other languages, and it is interesting to see that the lyrics were translated so that they would reflect the words of a woman finding her strength (as opposed to the original intention of the song).

One example is the translation to Arabic, performed by Sara Saeed.

انا عايزة اعيش

Translation:

i want to live

“I Will Survive” was also used in many movies, and its distinct melody was sampled into other songs, such as “Supreme” by Robbie Williams.