#the title is from a grace petrie song and if you like wonderful lesbian protest singers I am forcefully guiding you in the direction of

[bonepointlight]

roddacember day 1: character, and day 2: place. of course I had to choose verity, and the bone point light

[the-lincyclopedia]

Grace Petrie Starter Pack

Grace Petrie is my favorite musician I’ve encountered in the past, like, four years or so. Her music is what’s playing in my head about 90% of the time. She’s a butch lesbian folk musician from the UK. A lot of her songs are political, though she does have love songs and whatnot too. I think she’s amazing, and I bet a lot of y’all would agree if you listened to her music, so here’s a roundup of what you should listen to if you want to get into her music, along with my favorite lyrics from each of those songs. 

Black Tie

This is the first song of hers I heard, and it’s SUCH A GENDER MOOD. It’s technically more about gender expression than gender identity, but either way it’s just fantastic. Lyrics: 

The year 2018, I didn’t think we’d still be sorting babies into blue and pink

All our progress, well I wonder what it means that the only girls’ clothes that work for me turn out to be boyfriend jeans

You won’t grow out of it; you will find clothes that fit

The images that fucked ya were a patriarchal structure, and you never will surrender to a narrow view of gender

I could honestly quote the whole song, because all of it is amazing, but I’ll leave it at that.

You Build a Wall

This is a really quiet, gentle song that’s basically about resting up before a protest, about gathering your energy before going to confront something big and evil. Lyrics: 

Sometimes a battle cry sounds like a lullaby; tonight I think we need ’em both the same

You’ll see how much a snowflake matters when we become an avalanche

Compassion lives in every single land; we’re made of something you can’t understand, stronger than the weapons in your hand, bigger than the armies you command

It’s a really soothing song that doesn’t say “everything is going to be okay” but rather “I believe we have the power to make things okay,” and I love that. 

They Shall Not Pass

This one is an anti-fascist anthem. It’s much higher energy than “You Build a Wall” and I love the strength and solidarity it conveys. Lyrics: 

I dread the day when the suffering of my fellow is none of my concern

Stand up today that we might save tomorrow

Get on the streets--it’s not a call to arms; it’s a call to helping hands

I love that this is a really angry song that’s basically like “I’m going to care about my fellow humans and there’s nothing you can fucking do about it.” 

Pride

I can’t believe I’m putting this fourth, because honestly it’s the song that’s stuck in my head the most by far. This is another kind of angry song about solidarity, though (maybe obviously from the title) it’s explicitly about being queer rather than about everyone who finds themselves in the crosshairs of fascists. Lyrics:

There’s a multitude of sins that can hide behind your hashtags--tell me again how love wins

No one bats an eye that when 50 of us us die in it, it doesn’t even make the Daily Mail front page

I’m right by your side, and that’s what we call pride

Maybe this isn’t a universal feeling, but I personally love it how she gets specific about the threats her community is facing. “Pride” mentions the Pulse Nightclub shooting and the North Carolina Bathroom Act, “Black Tie” mentions specific transphobes, and “God Save the Hungry” (below) calls out the Tory party. 

God Save the Hungry

This is a criticism of “God Save the Queen,” and I used to be intrigued by monarchies, but lately I’ve become convinced that giving people that kind of exalted status because of their family lineage is bad, actually. Anyway, this song is about where God should focus God’s energy (hint: not the Queen). Lyrics: 

Yeah, it’s true God ain’t my thing, but if he was, I’d rather sing for all of the refugees perishing in foreign seas

Those bodies washed up on the shores were fleeing our state-sponsored wars

There’s a long and shameful list of folks we need God to assist, but those who sleep in palaces at night, I think they’re doing all right

I could honestly bring up several more songs, but these are my top five for sure. I’m super excited to see what new songs get added to my list when her new album comes out October 4!