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Take Back the Night meeting notes and plans, 1982
Take Back The Night : Speaking Out Page 6
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[[underlined]] Emily [[underlined]] by Peggy Seeger Once we were single, and once we were young And once we were happy husband and wife But 14 years married, 13 years harried Now Idon't care what becomes of my life The first time he lifted his hand against me He knew the blow was wicked and wrong He put his arms 'round me, said he was sorry Sorry love sorry, all the night long The next time he lifted his fist against me I thought I provoked him, I was to blame The next tome, the next time, and the time after I told no one cause I was ashamed If anything crossed him I got his fist If dinner was late he'd slap me around With begging and pleading, stitches and bleeding Nothing would do till I'm on the ground My mom came round, she seen I was crying Seen I was cut and bruised round the eye My husband turned round all smiling and charming Said all she does I spend and tell lies He said I was out with men everyday He locked me indoors and tore off my clothes My friend heard me screaming never come near Why did I stay with? God only knows Each afternoon my heart would start trembling I followed his journey, all the way home His step at the door would nearly dissolve me When he walked in my judgement had come I know there's two sides to every question I may be wrong, He may be right But he's got just two ways to answer a quarrel On is his left, the other his right. The doctor said he needs my understanding The police seldom challenge a man in his home Wveryone knows him, no one defends me After the altar, a wife's on her own I wonder, I cry, I pray I may die I run up to strangers to talk in the road Three kids and no money, so how can I leave him I'll lose my kids if I've got no home The last time he hit me, he nearly killed me I thought I was dead, I was glad to be free I gathered the kids up and went to a refuge (shelter) He grabbed a crowbar and came after me [[underlined]] Emily [[underlined]] page 2 When I go out I feel him behind me Three times we've moved, he's found us again If I kill myself at least I'll die easy At least I'll know why, at least I'll know when The refuge is bare, the floors and walls echo Nothing reminds me of comfort and home But here I can sleep and here I can rest Here I have friends, I'm no longer alone RECLAIM THE NIGHT The last five years have seen the mushrooming of rape crisis centes, legal reforms, women's self-defence programs, organisation of legal defence for women in rape trials, street demonstrations. The general cry of this movement is "Reclaim the Night!" so that women may be free of the fears that darkness and solitude often bring in either city street or home. It has to be understood that rape is not just a misdemanor but a crime that can cause permanent damage. Though Eve was made from Adan's rib, Nine months he lay within her crib; Now can a man of woman born Thereafter use her sex with scorn? For though we bear the human race, To us is given but second place - And some men place us lower still By using us against our will. If we choose to walk alone, For us there is no safety non, If we're attacked we bear the blame, They say that we began the game. And though you prove our injury, The judge may set the rapist free: Therefore the victim is to blame, Call it nature, but rape's the name. [[underlined]] CHORUS [[underlined]] Reclaim the night and win the day, We want the right that should be our own. A freedom women have seldom known: The right to live, the right to walk alone, Without fear. A husband has his lawful rights, Can take his wife whene'er he likes; And courts uphold, time after time, That rape in marriage is no crime. The choice is hers, and hers alone. Submit, or lose your kids and home. When loves becomes a legal claim, Call it duty, but rape's the name. And if a man should rape a child, It's not because his spirit's wild; Our system gives the prize to all Who trample on the weak and small. When fathers rape, they surely know Their kids have nowhere else to go. Don't Try to forget, don't ask us to Forgive them, they know what they do. (CHORUS) When exploitation is the norm, Rape is found in many forms: Lower wages, meaner tasks, Poorer schooling, second-class. We serve our own, and like the men We serve employers. It follows then That body's rape is nothing new - But just a servant's final due. We've raised our voices in the past. And this time will not be the last! Our body's gift is ours to give, Not payment for the right to live. Since we've outgrown the status-quo, We claim the right to answer NO! If without consent he stake a claim. Call it rape! For rape's the name! (CHORUS) (words & music, Peggy Seeger copyright, Ewan MacColl, Ltd.)
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[[underlined]] Emily [[underlined]] by Peggy Seeger Once we were single, and once we were young And once we were happy husband and wife But 14 years married, 13 years harried Now Idon't care what becomes of my life The first time he lifted his hand against me He knew the blow was wicked and wrong He put his arms 'round me, said he was sorry Sorry love sorry, all the night long The next time he lifted his fist against me I thought I provoked him, I was to blame The next tome, the next time, and the time after I told no one cause I was ashamed If anything crossed him I got his fist If dinner was late he'd slap me around With begging and pleading, stitches and bleeding Nothing would do till I'm on the ground My mom came round, she seen I was crying Seen I was cut and bruised round the eye My husband turned round all smiling and charming Said all she does I spend and tell lies He said I was out with men everyday He locked me indoors and tore off my clothes My friend heard me screaming never come near Why did I stay with? God only knows Each afternoon my heart would start trembling I followed his journey, all the way home His step at the door would nearly dissolve me When he walked in my judgement had come I know there's two sides to every question I may be wrong, He may be right But he's got just two ways to answer a quarrel On is his left, the other his right. The doctor said he needs my understanding The police seldom challenge a man in his home Wveryone knows him, no one defends me After the altar, a wife's on her own I wonder, I cry, I pray I may die I run up to strangers to talk in the road Three kids and no money, so how can I leave him I'll lose my kids if I've got no home The last time he hit me, he nearly killed me I thought I was dead, I was glad to be free I gathered the kids up and went to a refuge (shelter) He grabbed a crowbar and came after me [[underlined]] Emily [[underlined]] page 2 When I go out I feel him behind me Three times we've moved, he's found us again If I kill myself at least I'll die easy At least I'll know why, at least I'll know when The refuge is bare, the floors and walls echo Nothing reminds me of comfort and home But here I can sleep and here I can rest Here I have friends, I'm no longer alone RECLAIM THE NIGHT The last five years have seen the mushrooming of rape crisis centes, legal reforms, women's self-defence programs, organisation of legal defence for women in rape trials, street demonstrations. The general cry of this movement is "Reclaim the Night!" so that women may be free of the fears that darkness and solitude often bring in either city street or home. It has to be understood that rape is not just a misdemanor but a crime that can cause permanent damage. Though Eve was made from Adan's rib, Nine months he lay within her crib; Now can a man of woman born Thereafter use her sex with scorn? For though we bear the human race, To us is given but second place - And some men place us lower still By using us against our will. If we choose to walk alone, For us there is no safety non, If we're attacked we bear the blame, They say that we began the game. And though you prove our injury, The judge may set the rapist free: Therefore the victim is to blame, Call it nature, but rape's the name. [[underlined]] CHORUS [[underlined]] Reclaim the night and win the day, We want the right that should be our own. A freedom women have seldom known: The right to live, the right to walk alone, Without fear. A husband has his lawful rights, Can take his wife whene'er he likes; And courts uphold, time after time, That rape in marriage is no crime. The choice is hers, and hers alone. Submit, or lose your kids and home. When loves becomes a legal claim, Call it duty, but rape's the name. And if a man should rape a child, It's not because his spirit's wild; Our system gives the prize to all Who trample on the weak and small. When fathers rape, they surely know Their kids have nowhere else to go. Don't Try to forget, don't ask us to Forgive them, they know what they do. (CHORUS) When exploitation is the norm, Rape is found in many forms: Lower wages, meaner tasks, Poorer schooling, second-class. We serve our own, and like the men We serve employers. It follows then That body's rape is nothing new - But just a servant's final due. We've raised our voices in the past. And this time will not be the last! Our body's gift is ours to give, Not payment for the right to live. Since we've outgrown the status-quo, We claim the right to answer NO! If without consent he stake a claim. Call it rape! For rape's the name! (CHORUS) (words & music, Peggy Seeger copyright, Ewan MacColl, Ltd.)
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