One of my most closely held values as a human being is that women have an obligation to teach one another what we've learned. If we all did this at every opportunity, we'd be lifting one another up. Instead, we allow ourselves to be portrayed in the media in ways that debase our gender. We let ad executives and cosmetics companies and weight loss supplements show us pictures of bodies that most of us don't have, while telling us (and all the men in the world) that those pictures represent the only acceptable form of a woman's body. Women with influence or stardom often feed into this, producing sound bytes, music, books and news reporting that pits women against women-reinforcing the whole "cat fight" stereotype many men love to fantasize about-or that portray women beaten down, without ever turning the corner and letting us see or hear about the woman who overcomes, grows, learns and then teaches.
This letter was going to be about domestic violence, but then I heard this song on the radio (proof positive to me that my policy of never listening to the radio unless it's tuned to NPR is now and always has been correct). When I got home and found the lyrics on the Internet, I decided that this song is the best example of a woman allowing herself to be denigrated and abused for money; willingly subjecting herself, an incredibly popular musician, to the manipulations of the PR Machine.
Girls are the ones who listen to pop music. I had a picture in my head of the young girls I know and love downloading this song onto their ipods and listening to it over and over. I felt very powerless and sad enough that I just sat in Glen's parking lot and cried. I just kept thinking "there's nothing I can do-I can't get millions of girls to stop listening to this song."
You be the judge.
Bruno Mars
GRENADE
Easy come Easy go
That's just how you live oh
Take take take it all
But you never give,
Should of known you were trouble
From the first kiss had your eyes wide open,
Why were they open?
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash,
You tossed it in the trash, you did.
To give me all your love is all I ever asked cause what you don't understand, is id catch a grenade for ya.
Throw my hand on the blade for ya,
Id jump in front of a train for ya.
You know I'd do anything for ya.
See I would go through all this pain take a bullet straight through my brain.
Yes I would die for ya baby, but you won't do the same.
Black, black, black and blue beat me till I'm am numb tell the devil I said hey when you get back to where you're from.
Bad women bad women
That's just what you are yeah
You smile in my face than rip the breaks out my car.
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash, you tossed it in the trash yes you did. To give me all your fucking love is all I ever asked but what you don't understand is id catch a grenade for ya.
Throw my hand on the blade for ya, Id jump in front of a train for ya. You know I'd do anything for ya. Listen babe I would go through all this pain take a bullet straight through my brain. Yes I would die for ya baby. But you won't do the same. If my body was on fire ooh you would watch me burn down in flames. You said you loved me you're a liar cause you never ever ever did baby...
That's just how you live oh
Take take take it all
But you never give,
Should of known you were trouble
From the first kiss had your eyes wide open,
Why were they open?
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash,
You tossed it in the trash, you did.
To give me all your love is all I ever asked cause what you don't understand, is id catch a grenade for ya.
Throw my hand on the blade for ya,
Id jump in front of a train for ya.
You know I'd do anything for ya.
See I would go through all this pain take a bullet straight through my brain.
Yes I would die for ya baby, but you won't do the same.
Black, black, black and blue beat me till I'm am numb tell the devil I said hey when you get back to where you're from.
Bad women bad women
That's just what you are yeah
You smile in my face than rip the breaks out my car.
Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash, you tossed it in the trash yes you did. To give me all your fucking love is all I ever asked but what you don't understand is id catch a grenade for ya.
Throw my hand on the blade for ya, Id jump in front of a train for ya. You know I'd do anything for ya. Listen babe I would go through all this pain take a bullet straight through my brain. Yes I would die for ya baby. But you won't do the same. If my body was on fire ooh you would watch me burn down in flames. You said you loved me you're a liar cause you never ever ever did baby...
Easy come, easy go
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all,
But you never give
Should have known you was trouble from the first kiss,
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open?
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked,
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby,
But you won't do the same
No, no, no, no
Black, black, black and blue beat me 'til I'm numb
Tell the devil I said 'hey' when you get back to where you're from
Mad woman, bad woman,
That's just what you are, yeah,
You'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, yes you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby,
But you won't do the same
If my body was on fire, ooh you' d watch me burn down in flames
'Cause you never, ever, ever did baby
But darling I'll still catch a grenade for ya
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby,
But you won't do the same.
No, you won't do the same,
You wouldn't do the same,
Ooh, you'll never do the same,
No, no, no, no
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all,
But you never give
Should have known you was trouble from the first kiss,
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open?
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked,
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby,
But you won't do the same
No, no, no, no
Black, black, black and blue beat me 'til I'm numb
Tell the devil I said 'hey' when you get back to where you're from
Mad woman, bad woman,
That's just what you are, yeah,
You'll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, yes you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked
'Cause what you don't understand is
I'd catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby,
But you won't do the same
If my body was on fire, ooh you' d watch me burn down in flames
'Cause you never, ever, ever did baby
But darling I'll still catch a grenade for ya
Throw my head on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I'd jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby,
But you won't do the same.
No, you won't do the same,
You wouldn't do the same,
Ooh, you'll never do the same,
No, no, no, no
These lyrics are not available for printing.
Send "Grenade" Ringtone to Cell -and no, I don't want to download grenade to my cell as a ringtone, but I'll bet lots of girls do and will
Sincerely Yours
