Pretty Girls

Emerging Women — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:56:03 +0000

My church is currently doing a series where we are exploring how cultural system of patriarchy have not only hurt women and men, but they have forced us to limit God. It is a very difficult series because it exposes in us woundings that many of us have never fully faced before. But if we truly desire to love each other and worship God fully in spirit and truth, we have to force ourselves to explore difficult topics.

During our first week, we played this song by Cary Cooper, “Pretty Girls,” that really gets at the pain unhealthy cultural expectations and gender roles can cause us. I thought I’d share it here.

Pretty Girls

You…never like…your ugly duckling
You never like me…without my…lipstick on
You…never like…my recollections where your memories
Where you memories are…tread upon

You…never come…right out and tell me
The scenic route has…always…been your way
But I’ve…been riding shotgun with you long enough to know
Long enough to know what you mean when you say

Pretty girls…have pretty voices
Pretty girls…preserve their youth
Pretty girls…know all their choices
Pretty girls…don’t tell the truth

You…can teach a girl…to curtsy
Set a table…like her great grandmother did
You…can dress her up…in velvet
Neglect to tell her…all…the secrets you hid

And love…love is not…the question
Cause if you wanted…you could love someone to death
Love…them straight into…the closet…afraid to draw
Afraid to draw…afraid to draw a breath

Pretty girls…have pretty voices
Pretty girls…preserve their youth
Pretty girls…know all their choices
Pretty girls…don’t tell the truth

Emerging Women » Cary Cooper

Pretty Girls