Freewrite
Today in class our freewrite was listening to Nina Simone's arrangement of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman." In the second class we compared Nina Simone and Dylan's versions. Post your response to the song, juxtaposed (if you like with a poem from Alehouse. I recommended poems on pages: 1, 31, and 36)
One of the questions that came up was what qualifies a person to be a man or a woman. Can you separate out characteristics and say she talks like a man or he has a girl's voice and if the characteristics are interchangeable, if one is the opposite gender is having male of female characteristics a negative quality of a positive one?
The term, just like a woman, doesn't always carry a positive connotation. Bridgette said the narrator in Dylan's version of the song mad about the break-up and this was his farewell song. In Simone's the tone is different and this different tone changes the perspective, or does it, if you think Simone is also man?
Dylan and Simone's instrumentation also differs. How does this change the emotional context of the piece?
Just Like A Woman
Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
Queen Mary, she's my friend
Yes, I believe I'll go see her again
Nobody has to guess
That Baby can't be blessed
Till she sees finally that she's like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
It was raining from the first
And I was dying there of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what's worse
Is this pain in here
I can't stay in here
Ain't it clear that--
I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.
Copyright ©1966; renewed 1994 Dwarf Music
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/just-woman (song and Dylan poem)
Nina Simone: http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#just%20like%20a%20woman
http://blackgrooves.org/?p=331 for album information
Today in class our freewrite was listening to Nina Simone's arrangement of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman." In the second class we compared Nina Simone and Dylan's versions. Post your response to the song, juxtaposed (if you like with a poem from Alehouse. I recommended poems on pages: 1, 31, and 36)
One of the questions that came up was what qualifies a person to be a man or a woman. Can you separate out characteristics and say she talks like a man or he has a girl's voice and if the characteristics are interchangeable, if one is the opposite gender is having male of female characteristics a negative quality of a positive one?
The term, just like a woman, doesn't always carry a positive connotation. Bridgette said the narrator in Dylan's version of the song mad about the break-up and this was his farewell song. In Simone's the tone is different and this different tone changes the perspective, or does it, if you think Simone is also man?
Dylan and Simone's instrumentation also differs. How does this change the emotional context of the piece?
Just Like A Woman
Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
Queen Mary, she's my friend
Yes, I believe I'll go see her again
Nobody has to guess
That Baby can't be blessed
Till she sees finally that she's like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
It was raining from the first
And I was dying there of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what's worse
Is this pain in here
I can't stay in here
Ain't it clear that--
I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.
Copyright ©1966; renewed 1994 Dwarf Music
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/just-woman (song and Dylan poem)
Nina Simone: http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#just%20like%20a%20woman
http://blackgrooves.org/?p=331 for album information
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 9:17 AM
18 Comments:
Nina Simone “Just like a woman”.
I always hear from men “just like a woman, or “you think just like a woman”. The last time I checked I was a woman; take a look at the dynamics of a woman. They are the most important creatures in the world, they produce off-spring, they hold down the house hold, they bear many things, they cook, clean, pray, stress, month to month they go through pain seven days worth if there stress maybe two months. They are looked upon as weak stupid individuals, dehumanized, disrespected in the worst way. If my memory serves me correctly, back when the war was going on, did women not go out to the battle field and fight, heal the wounds of men from fighting? Women have endured so much but are praised so little. Imagine the world without women!
Tipton
English 1A
this does not make any sense
Rebecca Evans eng 1a 9-10 3/9/09
“Just like a woman” is a common phrase readily said to degrade women. Throughout my life I have been involved in numerous sports hence I have heard quotes such as: “you throw like a girl”, “you hit like a girl”, and “you run like a girl.” The fact is I am a girl and I am proud to hit, throw, and run “like a girl”.
A little over a century ago women were not permitted to play sports. Women were stereotyped as: homemakers, seamstresses, secretaries, and teachers. Today women not only hold many corporate jobs but also dominate many sports.
Margaret Abbot, an American studying in Paris during the 1896 Olympics, was the one of the first women to participate and win a medal. She won a nine-hole golf tournament with a score of 47! In the 2008 summer Olympics women won over half of the total medals accumulated by the U.S.
Also thanks to title 9, colleges must provide equal opportunities for woman and men to play sports. There is undoubtedly much progression to be made but within the past 112 years America had changed from night to day in regards to women and sports, imagine what can be done in the next 112 years. Change starts with drive, a dream, and action!
In response to the discussion on women and men’s voices; there has been a basic stereotype shaped around the voice of a man and the voice of a women. There is something poignant in different situations be it from a man or a woman. I for one would rather listen to men commentate on sports and I would rather listen to a woman read a story. These roles can easily be switched for any women can be just as savvy or more so in sports as a man and any man can read and liven a story as well or possibly better than a women.
To be honest I really did not notice the voice of the song but instead how the words were carried. For me, the words made a much larger imprint than the voice itself.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Munkhjin Munkhbaatar
English 1A
9-9.50
I hate it when someone say I do something like a girl. When I used to play volleyball for my high school, I hated it when some of my teammates say that I hit like a girl. Everytime they said it I tried to hit the ball so hard. But in life without women things will be so hard for men. They are the people who take care of the men. Women have faced so many difficulties during human life. They have been treated like an animal. Men used to see them as a house cleaner, cooker and babysitter. Women had no power. But now women and men are equal. Some women has more power than the men. I can't imagine what would our life look like without women
Rebecca, I love it the way you always expand the conversation historically as well as add a current context to the analysis. I remember when I read an essay about Title 9 and the monies government was investing in girls' sports in the public schools and public colleges. It meant that girls would now be able to play team sports, whereas before, if a sports program had to be cut, it was those involving females.
I guess I just noticed Nina Simone's artistry, her melodious delivery...like molasses on popcorn... rather than compared her to let's say a Paul Robeson--I exaggerate,not that I would...too different.
Munkhjin, I guess you represent the men presently, as yours is the lone voice. I like your contemplation of a world without women and the conclusions you draw.
W. Sabir
In relationship to the songs 'Just Like A Woman' I feel as though it was meant to state that a woman can endure much yet when she is hurt (in the song we assume it is heart break, but maybe that's just my interpretation) she breaks just like a little girl.
I guess its easy for me to relate to this, particularly now. As a woman of my age I have learned not to equate power and strength with those ideas held for men or by men. Ive come to embrace the traits considered wholly womanly as a very definitive type of power that women hold. Our ability to allow ourselves our emotions even if the world tries to demean that as a weakness. Is it better to hold ones feelings in and let them erode your soul? How is is that the idea that men can maintain such supposed "calm" should make them seem stronger than a woman? Am I weaker because I feel and it so often may show? Is it strength to bottle it up until it boils to an angry rage and assaults in some other way? Are my tears worse than the wars that so many men wage?
I see many of the things that we tend to associate as being “womanly” that so many young women are offended by as part of our inherent powers. I AM a better nurturer than a man and that is a special strength for which I am proud of. Indeed I also can bench press 140 pounds and best many men in physical strength and endurance yet this is because I have trained hard and chosen to be this. I am not strong like a man, I am strong like a human who just happens to be a woman.
My ability to nurture or my ability to cry over things that hurt me or make me sad and my tendency to be more emotional in so many ways, my desire to have a nice home, to want to cook wonderful meals for my loved ones and friends, my desire to look as lovely as I can, my need to want to love someone entirely....to be so very passionate...just like a woman. These are some of my many strengths not my weaknesses. I do not need false bravado and posturing as do so many men. Not to say that men don't have their true strengths but society so often sends us the message that the swaggering macho man is king. Those men who dare show feelings are often assigned the term “girly men” or even “pussies.” So having and showing emotion is weak and womanly? I am ok with that.
I just ended a relationship with someone who cant deal with their emotions. A man who believed that because he paid the bills and did the “manly” things in our relationship that made him the powerful one. Yet he is a broken little boy who because of childhood abuses and his inability to address how these issues have affected him has hurt many women in his life. He has never been able to have a healthy relationship and instead works to create chaos to end things rather than deal with his pain. When the going got real, he got going. My strength as a woman wanted to help him find answers but he is so afraid of the truth he would rather hurt me and himself than look his pain in the face. Men too often have this fear of the hard truths in life. They tend to make it appear as if they are in control when they are really not. Where is the power in that?
br> So yes I take just like a woman, I make love just like a woman and I ache just like a woman and yes I when have been hurt I do indeed break just like a little girl.
It is interesting how the songs have a different sense to them when sung by Simone or by Dylan. There does indeed seem to be an accusation of weakness in the way Bob Dylan sings it whereas Nina Simone seems to simply want you to understand what she is going through. How could that be true if the lyrics are so much the same? Are we merely convincing ourselves that Dylan couldn't possibly be defending the woman who breaks like a little girl? What if we change it to say..' he takes just like a man, he makes love just like a man, he aches just like a man...and he breaks just like a little boy'? Ah, now there is something to think about. Maybe it is that we all do our thing as “adults” but it is real and true that no matter how we are gendered that some pains make us break just like a little child.
i liked the song
Rebecca Evans eng 1a 9-10
thank you professor sabir,
in light of the song I have been reminising on the many songs about women and the delieverance of the song and its lyrics. It is rare to realltylisten to the lyrics but when does so it can truely be delievering a sublimital message
Some women empowerment songs I found were:
‘I Don’t Need A Man’ by The Pussycat Dolls.
‘Single’ by Natasha Bedingfeld
‘Bitch’ by Meredith Brooks
‘Miss Independent’by kelly clakson
‘Too Little Too Late’ by Jojo
‘Knock ‘Em Out’ by Lily Allen
‘Stand in the Rain’ by Superchick
‘
Fighter’ by Christina Aguilera
‘Listen’ by Beyonce
‘Survivor’ by Destiny’s Child
Jennifer Gonzales
English 1A 9-950a
Response to Nina Simone/Bob Dylan's Just Like a Woman:
The message that I recieved from the song was how woman are looked at through a man's perspective (especially when Bob Dylan sang it). He says, "she takes just like a woman, she makes love just like a woman, she aches just like a woman, but she breaks just like a little girl". What does it mean to do something like a woman. It sounds to me like that means women are a completely different species than men are. Honestly, there are no real differences between a man and a woman besides our reproductive organs. If the song was reversed and a woman sang it about a man, it would be the same thing. He takes like a man, loves like a man, hurts like a man, but breaks like a little boy. It is the same thing, the only difference is how one reacts to certain situations. There are many woman out there who can do everything a man does, maybe even better.
I completely agree with Rebecca about how woman are stereotyped, how we are supposed to be a certain way and are limited to our duties because we are woman. Woman have come a long way. We have stood up for our rights and continue to show strength. I think women carry more burden than men do. Men think they are stronger than us, by that, I mean muscle mass. They have no idea what we go through, emotionally, mentally and physically. Woman need to be given more credit. I'm glad we are celebrating Women's History Month.
Nely Ruiz
March 11, 2009
English 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Reflection on Bob Dylan / Nina Simone “Just Like a Woman”
It was very interesting to hear the different interpretations of the song “Just like a Woman” from the author/singer Bob Dylan, and the singer Nina Simone. Dylan’s version was upbeat, contemporary and even included his harmonica, while Simone’s take was had a rich bluesy feel, was a lot slower and definitely had a morose tone to it.
Dylan compares al females to one woman; the one who broke his heart. He is so blinded by this hurt; that his bitterness clouds his judgment for all other women. Dylan compares every women to her. He writes about the high point of the relationship, when she had new clothes, but recently he has seen that even the, “ribbons and her bows /
Have fallen from her curls.”(1) She has apparently been drained of her lust for love and life. The tempo Dylan uses suggests that he wants the listener to think he does not care anymore about this woman. They why would he spend time to pen this song at all? A part of Dylan wants to believe that she is the exception to the stereotypes of woman. He is sorely disappointed when he realizes that she; like every other woman he knows breaks like a little girl. It is as if he laid all his expectations at the feet of this love, and received failure. He also admits that he fell for this girl who has created an outer shell of a woman, “I was hungry and you were my world.”(4)
Nina Simone’s version is different. She is sad that this woman has not matured enough to handle situations as an adult woman. Yes, she can make love, dress, ache, and fake like a woman, but she cannot spill out her emotions, or share her inner layer like a woman. This lady is sad that other females have not learned how to be a real woman. They are copies of the real thing. Simone knows and Dylan is a prime example that; pretense only lasts so long and then the breaking point will show your true nature; that of a little girl.
Cesangary Tzinzun
English 1A 9-9:50am
Freewrite to song: "Just Like a Woman" by Bob Dylan.
This song "Just Like a Woman" makes me think about how we as woman may act, think and pretnd to do everything as a grown woman would, but when we break down we do it just like a little girl would. So evern if we pretend to be strong we break like girls, sometimes we do it because we need attention or we need to be loved.
After I heard my classmates reponse to this and what they think about this song, it made me look at the song a different way, maybe its a break up song, maybe the woman he is talking about here broke his heart, the reason why I think this is because in the song he says:"When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world." So I think the woman here was the love of his life and he prolly was really in love with her, but she probably broke his heart, she maybe cheated on him, because he says that she is fake as a woman, so now he may think all women are the same and that we are all fake, but at the end when we break we will break like little girls.
Andre Stephens
English 1A – 9:00 – 9:50
“Just Like a Woman” is usually a negative statement made mostly by men. Gossiping is one of those things that is considered to be “Just Like a Woman”.
If a woman has to keep asking a man to do something, he might say, “You nag all the time” or “Stop Nagging”. “Nagging” is also a word used to describe something that is “Just Like a Woman. From an early age, boys are taught if they show their emotions, such as crying, they are acting like a girl or said to be weak.
When my mother was in school during the 60s in the south, it was required that girls take home economics and boys take woodshop. Back then, it was assumed the girls would marry and stay home to raise the children. My 97-year-old great-grandmother said in her day cleaning the house, cooking and taking care of the kids was considered “women’s work,” and it was the men who went out to make a living for the family. That has changed some since women also go to work and take care of the home. Women have come a long ways, but there are still more men in top positions at companies than women.
My sister had the following poem hanging in her home and in some ways it reminded me of some parts of Nina Simone’s “Just Like a Woman.” I don’t know the title or author.
A woman has strengths that amaze men.
She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens.
She holds happiness, love and opinions.
She smiles when she feels like screaming.
She sings when she feels like crying, cries when
she’s happy and laughs when she’s afraid.
Her love is unconditional!
There’s only one thing wrong with her:
She sometimes forgets
What she is worth…
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