You Can't Keep A Good Girl Down
June 1, 2016 7:31 PM
Pop protest song for the current Music Challenge.
I wrote this in 2012 to dispel my frustration at yet another narrow defeat of fair treatment for women. I am old enough to remember the push for the ERA in 1972, when it passed congress only to be held up by conservatives. Since then, it's only become more important. Ultimately, I believe we'll get it right - here's hoping the song becomes irrelevant.
I don't use the word "girl" for anyone over a certain age, but putting the alliterative twist on the saying "you can't keep a good man down" won out over "you can't keep a good woman down". It's also punchier, and I felt this usage was not out of bounds in the context of the song.
The exquisite voice is Sharon Raquel, whom you may recall from jingle contest entry Community Forklift.
Wild drumming is by Darrell Dunning.
Single mom
She's still the bomb
You can't keep a good girl down
Your divorce?
She's been through worse
But you can't keep a good girl down
She's from skid row
No she's a CEO
'Cause you can't keep a good girl down
No use for dudes
With sexist attitudes
No, you can't keep a good girl down
They made a mistake when they decided to make
A ceiling out of glass
She can see the view, she will smash right through
There's no limit she can't surpass!
Works all day
For unequal pay
But you can't keep a good girl down
She's been down in the dumps
Now she's wearing satin pumps
'Cause you can't keep a good girl down
She's gonna win the fight
Over reproductive rights
You can't keep a good girl down
No matter what they do
She'll overcome that, too
You can't keep a good girl down
I wrote this in 2012 to dispel my frustration at yet another narrow defeat of fair treatment for women. I am old enough to remember the push for the ERA in 1972, when it passed congress only to be held up by conservatives. Since then, it's only become more important. Ultimately, I believe we'll get it right - here's hoping the song becomes irrelevant.
I don't use the word "girl" for anyone over a certain age, but putting the alliterative twist on the saying "you can't keep a good man down" won out over "you can't keep a good woman down". It's also punchier, and I felt this usage was not out of bounds in the context of the song.
The exquisite voice is Sharon Raquel, whom you may recall from jingle contest entry Community Forklift.
Wild drumming is by Darrell Dunning.
Single mom
She's still the bomb
You can't keep a good girl down
Your divorce?
She's been through worse
But you can't keep a good girl down
She's from skid row
No she's a CEO
'Cause you can't keep a good girl down
No use for dudes
With sexist attitudes
No, you can't keep a good girl down
They made a mistake when they decided to make
A ceiling out of glass
She can see the view, she will smash right through
There's no limit she can't surpass!
Works all day
For unequal pay
But you can't keep a good girl down
She's been down in the dumps
Now she's wearing satin pumps
'Cause you can't keep a good girl down
She's gonna win the fight
Over reproductive rights
You can't keep a good girl down
No matter what they do
She'll overcome that, too
You can't keep a good girl down
posted by AppleSeed (3 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
Yes, I had a digital drum track and a live drum track. There were several takes of the latter, but I fear the best take is lost. What I had to work with was very busy and the overhead mic was washing out the other tracks. The digital track is falling on the beat and Darrell is occasionally shifting the accent just a hair, so it sounds like a double hit. I also dubbed in a couple of fills for what I thought were obvious cues in the other backing tracks, and I didn't make a MIDI track, so it's not quantized, either. The live drums are usually muted when Sharon is singing, i.e. - mostly used for fills; a bit more care with the mixdown would have made this more seamless.
posted by AppleSeed at 11:12 AM on June 7, 2016
posted by AppleSeed at 11:12 AM on June 7, 2016
Oh man that sounds like a mixing nightmare :) it's impressive that you've managed to edit it so that it's only detectable in a few spots!
posted by greenish at 3:51 AM on June 8, 2016
posted by greenish at 3:51 AM on June 8, 2016
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posted by greenish at 5:40 AM on June 7, 2016