Following from yesterday's Japanese celebration song Girls' Day - Hina Maturi - a truly empowering number by the US-Australian singer to go alongside #March4Women running up to International Women's Day. Reddy wrote the song alongside Ray Burton of Australian rock band The Executives. It originally appeared on her debut album I Don't Know How to Love Him, released in May 1971, and was heard during the closing credits for the 1972 film Stand Up and Be Counted. A new recording for the single came out in May 1972 and became a number one hit later that year, eventually selling over one million copies. Reddy's lyrics, an inspiration to many women, certainly speak for themselves, but she is quoted as having been spurred on in particular by how she was treated in the entertainment industry. In the light of further scandals, particularly in the film industry, but no doubt more to come out in music, the song still remains just as relevant.
"Women have always been objectified in showbiz. I'd be the opening act for a comic and as I was leaving the stage he'd say, 'Yeah, take your clothes off and wait for me in the dressing room, I'll be right there'. It was demeaning and humiliating for any woman to have that happen publicly."
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.
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