A Woman's Place

A song by Sara Thomsen

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “A Woman’s Place”, by Sara Thomsen (2006). If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.

Comments and questions are welcome. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEFL (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.

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Note for language learners at the Eiken 2/CEFR B1 level:

How could you use this article to improve your vocabulary? I suggest that you:

• read through the article once and try to guess the words you don’t know, then…

• look through the list of vocabulary at the end. Choose 3 words or so (maximum of 5), and…

• recall those as you read through the article again.

How did you do? Relax! There is no test. 🙃 Seeing the words a few times in context will help you to recognize them. Then, watch the video. You will probably notice the 3 words that you chose.

Sing along! Get up and dance. Enjoy this great song!

The Song

(597 words)

Sara Thomsen is a singer, songwriter, director and arranger. She writes on her website:

This song was commissioned [Sara Thomsen was asked to write the song] by the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development at the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, for their 2006 Women’s History Month celebration and theme – “Our Place in the World.”

This song is a tribute to women around the world. It shows how powerful women really are. They hold any job you can imagine. They create things with their hands, and they create homes. They do research. The list goes on…

I am a woman, and my place is in the home 

And my home is the whole wide world 

As a world “shaper”, a woman has an impact of the people around her, whether it’s in her family or in her community.

We are world shapers, we are change makers 

Woman making pottery in Seward Park Art Studio, circa 1976 (Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, WA)

A potter is someone who makes things with clay such as cups, plates, or pots.

We are potters spinning clay, we are dreamers of a new day 

We are asking questions, we are opening up the door 

We are searching, finding answers

We are wisdom seeking more 

There are few occupations that women cannot do. Of course, there might be cultural restrictions.

Rabbi, singer, teacher, professor, poet, preacher 

Driving buses, styling hair 

We are everywhere 

We are women 

Traditional Japanese hearth (Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

We are sweeping the hearth 

We are dreaming in the dark 

Women weaving at a loom (Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

We are weaving at the loom 

“Rhythms of the moon” probably refers to a woman’s monthly cycle.

We are the rhythms of the moon 

We are world shapers, we are change makers 

To “tend” something means to take care of it. “Tender” here means the person who takes care of something.

We are tenders of the earth, we are women giving birth 

.

We are packing lunches

We are sewing the clothes you wear 

Women can also fall on hard times and end up with no homes.

We are sleeping on park benches

We are kneeling down in prayer 

.

Doctor, dancer, scientist, carpenter and journalist 

Rocking chair (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The phrases “telling stories” and “rocking chairs” for many people bring to mind the idea of a grandmother holding a small child in her lap, rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, maybe telling the child a story. “Rocking” can have another meaning, though… to “rock the boat”, in other words, to do something to upset the current situation.

Telling stories, rocking chairs 

We are everywhere 

We are women 

.

We are stirring the pot 

We are keeping the fire hot 

We are holding a child's hand 

We are the rhythms of the land 

We are world shapers, we are change makers 

We are potters spinning clay, we are dreamers of a new day 

We are laughing, crying, we are taking the time to play 

We are singing, we are sighing

To “make your own way” is to decide your life for yourself.

We are making our own way 

.

Politician, volunteer, refugee, and engineer 

In the streets refers to women who attend protests to demand justice. “On the air” refers to journalists and women who broadcast the news.

In the streets and on the air 

We are everywhere 

We are world shapers, we are change makers 

We are potters spinning clay, we are dreamers of a new day 

We are rule breakers, we are home makers 

We are healers of the earth 

Midwife home appointment (Wikimedia Commons, photo: eyeliam from Portland, US)

A midwife is a person who is trained to help women during the birth of a baby.

We are midwives at the birth 

We are women, and our place is in the home 

And our home is the whole wide world 

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Question

Did you recognize any of the women in the video?

Who is a woman that you respect? Why?

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Vocabulary

shaper 形作る人

potter 陶芸家

rabbi ラビ (pronounced RAB•eye)

preacher 説教者

sweep　掃く

hearth　囲炉裏

weave　織ります

loom 織機

stir かき回す

sigh ため息

We are making our own way  私たちは自分たちのやり方で進んでいます

refugee 難民

engineer エンジニア (pronounced en•jeh•NEER)

midwife 助産師

Sources

https://sarathomsen.com/track/1916903/a-woman-s-place

http://www.sarathomsen.com