Wicked Girls

[vixy]

In case anyone wanted to know, here is the version of the bridge to Seanan McGuire's "Wicked Girls" which I sang at Conflikt:

Now Leslie's a jester, and Bree captures flags from the powers
And Chelsea lights beacons that shine even now from her tower
Pramila and Kshama and Sonia and Ruth
Will fight for your rights and stand up for the truth
 

There were so many more I wish I could have fit in there, but the song's only so long. :) 

Interestingly, at almost the exact time I was finalizing and singing this, Rep. Pramila Jayapal was actively helping to prevent illegal deportations at SeaTac Airport. Like, literally going out and pounding on the door of the CBP office. Along with Rep. Suzan Delbene and a number of other local political figures. That's pretty awesome. I've never been prouder to be someone's constiuent than I am of Rep. Jayapal.

I also inserted a couple of additional women into Talis Kimberly's "Archetype Cafe". The version as I received it has "Medea was jealous" three times, and I figured it'd be good to give some other women a go. I read a little about Ida B. Wells, and learned that, among other things, the New York Times called her a "nasty-minded mulattress" during her anti-lynching campaign. That's right: the original "nasty woman!" So "they'll tell you that Ida was nasty" became one of my new lines. The other was one I've used before, "they'll tell you that...Hillary's crooked." 

I had a fascinating conversation with Judi Miller about name signs while I was sharing these lyrics with her before the concert. Apparently, ASL interpreters for Tr*mp's rallies were told to use a letter "H" in the sign for "lie" as a name-sign for Hillary Clinton-- and if they refused, the interpreters were fired. Pissed off interpreters and other deaf people were like "OH HELL NO" and instead starting using a letter "H" in the sign for "beautiful"-- and instead took the toupee-flapping name-sign they'd been using for Tr*mp and combined that with the sign for "lie".

Never forget that language is power.

Comments

[alexseanchai]

Love that bridge.

Way to go, interpreters!

[sheistheweather]

Thank you for posting it! Also, the name sign thing is very interesting!

[umadoshi]

That bridge is marvelous. ^_^

Not enough WTF in the world for the instructions to the ASL interpreters, but what a badass response from them!

[frobisherw]

Thank you for the lyric update. It is good. I dropped by Rep Jayapal's office today; it's right downtown, open usual business hours (although they haven't installed phones yet). It's worth dropping in when you can to encourage and help her keep up the fight.

[technoshaman]

That bridge was awesome! Wicked Girls has hit me right in the feels pretty much since it came out (and I was breaking out of my own cage)... (literally, learning to live on two wheels instead of four) ...

Oh, and talis_kimberley loved the change-up on Cafe... and the idea that fandom, and America and Britain as a whole, are rising up singing...

[catsittingstill]

Love that story about the interpreters! And the latest bridge for Wicked Girls! Go you! #resist

[batyatoon]

well this is pretty excellent :D

[azurelunatic]

That is a very powerful bridge.

Language is power. Names are power.

[laurenthemself]

I cannot tell you how much I love that you have done these things with these lyrics. Especially Chelsea.

My expression of ideas is opening out to include more painting and drawing and such (not away from writing, that would be like going 'I don't really need to breathe any more). I was listening to Brooke vs John's 'Mad Science Cafe', and then thinking about 'Archetype Cafe', and then thinking, 'what if all these places were in a row of shops together?' So I also have 'Jonathan's Coffeehouse' from Talis, 'Jack's Place' from Seanan, and Mary Crowell's 'Coffee Cantata'.

I'm mainly telling you this so maybe I will feel slightly more like I should do it now I've written it down, and to ask if you can think off-hand of any other such locales.

[kjn]

'Harry's Bar' from Sam's Song by Zander Nyrond.

[laurenthemself]

Thank you!

[kjn]

And an even older one (fitting with thread necromancy): Time Wind's Tavern by Teri Lee.