# Songs by women about other women

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 9, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801 "2019-03-09T00:39:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801/61 "2020-03-09T01:02:40Z")

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Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen.”

[Gilda Radner takes a crack at singing a feminist anthem.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJyehUzazeY)

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**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801/62 "2020-03-09T01:09:46Z")

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> [@Esprise\_Me](#):
>
> . . .  
> I would give my life just for a little  
> A little death. \*

If you must steal, steal from the best…

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**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801/63 "2020-03-09T02:32:24Z")

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> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#):
>
> Paula Cole said otherwise in an MTV interview, but she may have been referring specifically to the video.

Yeah, she had to have been talking only about the video and not the song. From Wikipedia:

> [@](#):
>
> The music video for the song was directed by Mark Seliger and Fred Woodward. It was one of Cole’s first videos, and was based on the concept of a woman who was immortal and had lovers in different time periods, all of whom died.

Reading over the lyrics of the song, it clearly has nothing at all to do with this. The song is about a husband and wife who are separated when the man has to go fight in World War II in 1944, then comes back traumatized by his experiences in the war, but nonetheless goes on to raise a family. There’s no connection to _Orlando._

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**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801/64 "2020-03-09T13:56:38Z")

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Bette Davis Eyes

1. Written by two women ( Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon,}
2. Originally released by a woman (Jackie DeShanon)
3. Famous cover version by a woman (Kim Carnes)
4. Written about a woman
5. A woman’s name in the title

Don’t get much more womanly than that!

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801/65 "2020-03-09T14:17:52Z")

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[Ford Econoline](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OBSo3G8LCg) written and performed by Nancy Griffith is about Rosalie Sorrels, a wonderful folk singer.

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**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-women-about-other-women/830801/66 "2020-03-12T16:05:25Z")

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> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> [Electricity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DB1lu3nsy0) by Joni Mitchell is about a woman who is trying to fix an electrical circuit. (I _love_ this song, BTW. It’s in my top-five list of favorite Mitchell songs.)

I’ll add my favorite Joni Mitchell song: [Raised on Robbery](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4RH7m3ssPlo).

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