| Iron & Wine – Woman King Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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As soon as I heard this song, I went hunting for lyrics... and to here, which is always a great stop for checking out what a song means to people. My two cents: This isn't so much a cut and dry song about either female power or the struggle for equality, though it certainly contains aspects of both. I think it's more about power itself, in this case wielded by a woman. The world described by the lyrics is a flawed one, as is the ruler - she fights again huge concepts like evil, but she also bleeds. She's human. Her eyes are bloodshot when she puts a thumb down (to end a life for the sake of her world/people), but she is not unaffected by the consequences of her actions. She is a King who weeps for what must be done. This song is like listening to a potrait - the lyrics paint a world of flaw and decay, but like the Old West it evokes, for all its rot and shortcomings it is an epic concept - the idea carries power. The Woman King, too, is imperfect - but nonetheless carries immense strength, dignity and firmness tempered by the humanity we can see in her. It feels perfect to me for this song to be acoustic - there is no massive amplification system, no distortion or earth-shattering synth... but the instruments, the vocals, despite simplicity and lack of bombasity, carry an incredible (and powerful) emotional impact all their own. |
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