Hear Dolly Parton’s Suffrage Anthem ‘A Woman’s Right’
When it comes to politics, Dolly Parton often chooses to stay mum on the topic. But in a just-released video the singer-songwriter celebrates one of the most hard-fought battles for American women, the August 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reserved suffrage rights for women and allowed them to vote.
Parton contributes the typically bubbly yet poignant and empowering “A Woman’s Right” to 27: The Most Perfect Album, a collection of songs about the Constitutional amendments that have shaped our democracy, and yet are often at the center of fierce political debate.
In a spoken introduction, Parton details the fight for women’s voting rights which began in 1840 and was buoyed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, for which pioneering women’s right advocate Susan B. Anthony served as president.
“First they said we couldn’t dance then said we couldn’t drink/ And unless some men allowed it, they said we couldn’t think,” Parton sings in the tune, which comes with a colorful video by animator Maya Edelman.
27: The Most Perfect Album is the brainchild of the creators of the More Perfect podcast, originating from the studios of public radio station WNYC in New York. Other artists contributing to the project include They Might Be Giants, Devendra Banhart, Kash Doll, Torres and Kevin Morby. The album is available now and can be heard in its entirety at the WNYC website.