Talking to you…Not a Pretty Girl 9/4/20

Heading into the weekend, I was listening to Ani DiFranco this morning while cleaning up the kitchen. Pleasantly kicking dishes asses, if you’ve ever listened to Ani before. Her song Not A Pretty Girl came on, and the first three lines immediately grabbed my attention. This song challenges me to stand up, be me, and stay strong! Below are my favorite three lines of the entire song:

Every time I say something they find hard to hear
They chalk it up to my anger
And never to their own fear, imagine you’re a girl

Take a listen, see if it gives you what it gave me…

Not a Pretty Girl

Ani DiFranco

I am not a pretty girl
That is not what I do
I ain’t no damsel in distress
And I don’t need to be rescued, so

So put me down, punk
Wouldn’t you prefer a maiden fair?
Isn’t there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere?

I am not an angry girl
But it seems like I’ve got everyone fooled
Every time I say something they find hard to hear
They chalk it up to my anger
And never to their own fear, imagine you’re a girl

Just trying to finally come clean
Knowing full well they’d prefer you were dirty
And smiling, and I am sorry

But I am not a maiden fair
And I am not a kitten
Stuck up a tree somewhere

And generally my generation
Wouldn’t be caught dead working for the man
And generally I agree with them
Trouble is you got to have yourself
An alternate plan, and I have earned my disillusionment

I have been working
All of my life
And I am a patriot
I have been fighting the good fight

And what if there are no damsels in distress?
What if I knew that, and I called your bluff?
Don’t you think every kitten
Figures out how to get down
Whether or not you ever show up?

I am not a pretty girl
I don’t really want to be a pretty girl
I wanna be more than a pretty girl