In keeping with last weekend's patriotic holiday, I'd like to share some anthems. But instead of singing about the Stars and Stripes, these motivating melodies are all about the Power of Women - Women's Anthems!
What all these songs have in common is a sense of positivity and inner strength that I think we women sometimes struggle to attain. If you're already familiar with any or all of these tracks, then I hope this gives you a chance to revisit other music that inspires you to greatness.
I'll start off with Superchick's Anthem. Given the title, it seems like an obvious choice. It's also my absolute favorite for anytime I need to jumpstart my energy levels.
Favorite Lines:
"We don't have time for your games/ We have our own goals to score/ There are trophies to win/ Instead of being one of yours"
"Here's to anyone who never quit when things got hard/ You'll never let them say/ You'll never get that far"
The second song I want to share is Helen Reddy's I Am Woman. Putting this here is all about history - or if you prefer, herstory. This song has a serious place in the Women's Movement. Betty Friedan tells a wonderful story about this song as writes about a NOW convention she addressed in Washington in the winter of 1973:
"[A] dramatic celebration of our herstory closed with the song 'I Am Woman'; suddenly women got out of their seats and started dancing about the hotel ballroom, joining hands in a circle that got larger and larger until maybe a thousand of us were dancing and singing... It was a spontaneous, beautiful expression of the exhilaration we all felt in those years, women really moving as women." (1)
Favorite Lines:
"You can bend but never break me/'Cause it only serves to make me/More determined to achieve my final goal...'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul"
Next we've got India Arie's Beautiful Flower. I love the idea of Beauty that comes from inner strength rather than outer appearances. This is the kind of song that I could end a day with: mellow sounds with deeply sincere lyrics. Unfortunately I couldn't get a video with the whole song (most of the videos I found had embedding disabled). But I think you can still get a good feel for the song with this clip.
Favorite Lines:
"This is a song for every girl who's ever been through something she couldn't make it through"
"You are powerful like a fire/You will heal the world with your mind"
"The next time the radio tells you to shake your moneymaker/Shake your head and tell them you're a leader"
I tried to get a few different music styles in here, but feel free to comment with your own personal anthem.
Related Links:
References:
1. Betty Friedan, "It Changed My Life" (1976), pp. 257
Videos courtesy of YouTube.com
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