It’s International Women’s Day

This became my marching song in 1972 — Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman.” I’m still marching …

 

“I Am Woman”

Lyrics by Ray Burton and Helen Reddy

 

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

11 thoughts on “It’s International Women’s Day

        1. Great post. I particularly liked the quote from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “The world will never realize 100 per cent of its goals if 50 per cent of its people cannot realize their full potential.”

    1. There’s an element in this country that would like to settle for giving us door prizes. I still want a lot more than that. Yep, the song always makes me stand a little taller. Reddy’s always been one of my favorites.

  1. Darn. Missed it. Too busy drying off wet dogs with muddy feet.
    While I appreciate the sentiment and agree with the message, that song was just a bit too bubble gum/commercial for me. Reddy’s very cool though….she’d never settle for door prizes – that’s a little condescending like a nice smile, pat on the head and “Don’t worry your little head, honey. We’ll take care of it.” (but they never do.)
    Thanks for the reminder note

    1. Not surprising the day slipped by unnoticed. It certainly wasn’t mentioned on any TV I saw; Selma activities crowded it out. Until I saw it online somewhere, I wasn’t aware of it either.

      1. Neither was World Book Day. I missed that one, too. I feel we are losing important parts – meaningful events…yet are keeping /gaining far too much info/awareness of celebrity/public figures’ weddings/divorces/birthday/stupid goofs in texts and similar meaningless fluff. All I can think is mooooove on you cows…pay no attention to those loud noises in the building beyond the feed troughs and dark gates….there’s a few books written about that…which may never be read by some?

        1. I couldn’t agree more. Every day and every month is national something-or-other. The chaff obscures the important stuff. Even IWD, when remembered, does not provoke the concern it should. There are a lot of serious problems in the world today. We shouldn’t lose sight of them because of National Whazzit Day.

... and that's my two cents