My car was made just before they started installing CD players, therefore, I listen to the radio when I'm out driving around. Over this past year, I have slowly fallen in love with Natasha Bedingfield. Her music is an enjoyable mix of hip-hop and pop. Her lyrics are clean and catchy. And her message is powerful! Currently she is most well known for "These Words", which is about finding the best word to say "I love you" and "Unwritten" which speaks to the fact that we have some control over our life and the direction it takes. These are the two songs that got me hooked on her, but I would have to say that "Single" is the song that I like the best.
Ah yeah that's right
All you single people out there
This is for you
I'm not waitin' around for a man to save me
(Cos I'm happy where I am)
Don't depend on a guy to validate me
I don't need to be anyone's baby
(Is that so hard to understand?)
No I don't need another half to make me whole
Make your move if you want doesn't mean I will or won't
I'm free to make my mind up you either got it or you don't
[Chorus:]
This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star's in the ascendant
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
Don't need to be on somebody's arm to look good
(I like who I am)
I'm not saying I don't wanna fall in love 'cos I would
I'm not gonna get hooked up just 'cos you say I should
(Can't romance on demand)
I'm gonna wait so I'm sorry if you misunderstood
[Chorus]
Everything in it's right time everything in it's right place
I know I'll settle down one day
But 'til then I like it this way it's my way
Eh I like it this way
Make your move if you want doesn't mean I will or won't
I'm free to make my mind up you either got it or you don't
'Til then I'm single
This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star's in the ascendant
Not only does this song literally say "I don't need a man to validate me", but it also doesn't come across in the extreme feministic "more rights for women" kind of way. It's okay to be single. It's okay to not date. It's okay to want to wait.
Sadly so many women fall into the mindset that they must be with a man to have purpose and meaning to their lives. That they can't be someone without first being WITH someone. So they are constantly going from one boyfriend to another, never single for more than a week, and in the end left feeling more empty than the beginning.
How great it is to see someone in the popular radio world taking a stand...trying to empower women (in a different way) ....to make a statement (even if it is a small one). Too bad this isn't the most popular of her songs on the radio!
On a different note (fiances): I have a former student who is now 6 years old. He attends the school where my roommate currently teaches. Recently some friends had a BBQ where both my roommate and my former student were in attendance. Now this particular student has a problem with remembering big words, but not using them at the appropriate times. The following is a conversation between Tanya (my roommate) and my former student and his mother.
Student: I remember you. You're Ms. Salmond's fiance!
Tanya: Roommate. I'm Ms. Salmond's roommate.
Student's mother: Roommate sweetie. Roommate.
Student: Fiance! Fiance! Fiance! Fiance!
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3 comments:
Yeah, that conversation was a wee bit awkward ! ha ha -Tanya
Personaly I hate that song. :P I love Natasha Bedingfield, but this one blows. God made us to need each other. Sometimes he satisfies us with friendships, but mostly with mates. Most of us will spend much more of our lives with a mate than without. I don't think there is anything wrong with being single. I just don't like those songs and such that say because I'm not with a man I don't need one or even want one. I'll not going to put my life on hold for a mate, but I know my life would be wonderful with someone who God give to me to share every moment with. No friendship can ever be as deep and solid as marrage.
Dear Anonymous: I can agree with almost everything you are saying. However, if you listen or read the words carefully, Natasha is not saying that she doesn't need one or want one. She's not saying that God didn't design us for marriage. What she IS saying is that she doesn't need a man to validate her. She doesn't need to be someone's girlfriend to feel complete. Quite honestly, that is what God wants from us - to desire HIM, to look to HIM for wholeness. Even in a great marriage, if you look to your husband for validation or to complete you, you will never find it. For those are not things that can come through man (or woman). While Natasha doesn't put the Christian spin on this song (she is a Christian by the way), she does say that she would fall in love with the right man, but that she doesn't need him to feel that wholeness. She's at peace with being single because, as she says, "right now" that's where she's at.
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