The Muses of Happiness

A late night musing on being a feminist in a trumply world. The recording link is below.

I Am A Feminist

Chorus:
I am a feminist,
Yes, I am a feminist,
I am a feminist,
And I belong to me.
You could call me nasty surly,
You could call me freshly tart,
You could call me little girly,
But I just call me smart,
For I am a feminist,
Yes I am a feminist,
I am a feminist,
And I belong to me.

Verse 1
There’s no “post-feminist era
For feminism is “foreva”.
I’m my own human being,
Got my own way of seeing.
My mama always said
You are your own woman.
If you can’t get that
You got another think comin’.

Verse 2
It’s my body, it’s my choice,
And you can’t trump that it’s my call.
Choose the girls, choose the boys,
Or choose nothin’ at all.
And it’s in my genes
To be just what I please.
And what’s in my jeans
belongs only to me for…

www.soundcloud.com/janhapharp/i-am-a-feminist

I wrote this song for my best friend from high school.  She moved away to the Southwest last fall and for her parting gift I penned this song hurriedly the afternoon before her going-away party.  I sang it that evening and promised I’d record it for her.  I’m finally getting to that part!  You can hear two recordings at the link below.

Dear Friend (for Tina)

Dear friend, though you travel far away
You will always be in my heart.
Dear friend, though your road leads you away,
In my life, you’ll always play a part.

When the days grow chill,
I’ll think of you still,
You in your southern abode.
And perhaps someday,
When my feet need to stray,
I’ll follow you down that road.

Dear friend, though you travel far away
You will always be in my heart.
Dear friend, though your road leads you away,
In my life, you’ll always play a part.

In your heart there is a calm you gave to me in loving touch.
In your heart there is a calm you gave to me in eye’s delight.
In your heart there is a child whose laughter is a youthful ring.
In your heart there is a child whose sweetness I keep in my sight.

Dear friend, though you travel far away
You will always be in my heart.
Dear friend, though your road leads you away,
In my life, you’ll always play a part.

In 2013, I first wrote this holiday song. But I updated it today by changing the chorus and also made a new recording. Enjoy both!

I’m wishing you a happy holiday
I’m wishing you some light upon your way
I’m wishing you some love in all you say
And a very merry new year

They say it’s the season for tinsel and holly
They say it’s the season to ever be jolly
But sometimes I know
That it’s hard to find a place to go
But you’re never too young or too old
To be welcomed inside from the cold
So I’m hoping you’ll look to the light
Where love has opened doors in the night

I say it’s the season for giving out cheer
To those we call “strange” and those we call “dear”
But sometimes I see
That it’s hard to feel that free
But you’re never too young or too old
To open a door to the cold
So I’m hoping you’ll lighten your heart
And find a way to do your part

A song about grief, loss, regret. I have recently lost dear friends and colleagues and there are several upcoming anniversaries of loss. The only way to express this is in a song. Here is the link to the recording: https://soundcloud.com/janhapharp/season-of-loss

Chorus:
Season of loss, season of regret.
I cry for another again I’ll never see,
For words unsaid and a touch never met,
But a little part of you is always with me.

Verse 1:
Cellular pain courses through.
Chemical remedy and radical ray
Blast their way into you,
But life and death will have their way.

Verse 2:
You breathed, you loved, you danced,
Within my life, your steps wore a trail.
You cried, you toiled, you chanced,
Within my life, you’re a part of my tale.

Bridge:
I see the timbre of your voice
In ripples of light across my eyes.
I hear the music of your smile
In gentle words, soothing and wise.

Verse 3:
Reaching out across space and time,
Your love, your light, your laughter,
Reaching back across space and time,
Your face, your joy, your ever after.