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.
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
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
We are sweeping the hearth
We are dreaming in the dark
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
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
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
Question
Did you recognize any of the women in the video?
Who is a woman that you respect? Why?
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
I’ve never heard of Sara Thompsen before Louise, thank you for the introduction… what an inspiration!
We really are so lucky to live in a world that now accepts our strengths (mostly) and to have the ability to diversify those strengths where they are best used. And of course, we are not all built for staying at home, the same as men weren’t all built for building houses or likewise being a banker, I have always believed, as did my parents (I was so lucky to have the upbringing I did) that everyone should have the choice in life, no matter that they are male, female, or any other gender. 🙏🏽
Hadn’t heard Sara for a while. Thank you! As I listened I felt grateful to have come of age in an era when women had so many choices.