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about
The hardest thing for an artist to do as they get older is to keep their edge. You always run the danger of making something “edgy” just for the sake of it, instead of creating something organic to yourself. “The song Resist” took almost five years to finish, because I wanted to get it right. I was uncomfortable with describing women as “sticky”, couldn’t figure out how to use spoken word without sounding fake (even though the folk and jazz traditions I come from have always used spoken word!), and finally, had no idea how to end it. Once finished, I enlisted Randy Leago’s help for the recording, it really came together. I love that lyrically it comes full circle, from the repetitious “She is. She is. She is” to “Resist. Resist. Resist.”
lyrics
She is. She is. She is.
She is. She is. She is
She is. She is. She is
too short too fat too skinny
Too tall too plain too pretty
Too hot too wet too sticky
Too… picky
Oh, what an ugly girl. Oh, what an ugly girl.
Put her in high heels, so she can’t run
Carve out between her legs so she can’t come
Get her a dress, for easy access
Tell everybody that she’s just like all the rest
How long? How long, how long, how long
How long? How long, how long, how long
Tell me I’m ugly so I’ll buy your crap
Tell me you want me ‘cause I don’t talk back
Tell me I carry the original sin
Tell me I’m holy when I cover up my skin
Tell me that my body bears a permanent stain
Tell me we can marry if I give up my name
Call me your baby so I never grow up
Tell me you love me when you only want to fu-fu-fu-
Funny how I whisper and you think it’s a roar
You ask me to the table then you seat me on the floor
You want me to be sexy. You want me to be pure.
I cannot be your virgin and I will not be your whore.
It’s a funny kind of thing, when you sing a little song
and you get a couple people to sing along
It’s the power of community.
Authenticity changes your reality
I know it’s hard to believe when they’re yelling in your ear
and it’s the only voice you’re able to hear
But you raise up your fist and you learn to resist
and you say “I will not disappear”
I will not disappear. I will not disappear.
I will not disappear, I will not disappear.
I will not disappear.
released November 18, 2021
Produced by Randy Leago & Janis Ian
Janis Ian: acoustic guitars, main vocal
Randy Leago: everything else
Engineers: Jon Perry (Ian guitars & vocal); Randy Leago (everything else, editing, preliminary mix), Jared Anderson (editing, final mix)
Janis Ian began her iconic career at age 14 when she wrote her impactful song “Society’s Child” about an interracial romance
between teenagers. Her honest songwriting has translated into culturally significant tracks including “At Seventeen,” “Jesse,” and “Stars.” She has been nominated for nine Grammys and won two: one in 1976 for “At Seventeen” and one in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Recording....more
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