Lyrics for not a pretty girl as interpreted by aur0ra

not a pretty girl Lyrics
i am not a pretty girl
that is not what i do
i ain't no damsel in distress
and i don't need to be rescued
so put me down punk
maybe you'd prefer a maiden fair
isn't there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere

i am not an angry girl
but it seems like i've got everyone fooled
every time i say something they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger
and never to their own fear
and imagine you're a girl
just trying to finally come clean
knowing full well they'd prefer you
were dirty and smiling

and i am sorry
i am not a maiden fair
and i am not a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere

and generally my generation
wouldn't be caught dead working for the man
and generally i agree with them
trouble is you gotta have yourself an alternate plan
and i have earned my disillusionment
i have been working all of my life
and i am a patriot
i have been fighting the good fight
and what if there are no damsels in distress
what if i knew that and i called your bluff?
don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down
whether or not you ever show up

i am not a pretty girl
i don't want to be a pretty girl
no i want to be more than a pretty girl

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  • 26 Comments
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Flick
05-22-2002

Rated 0 
this song is about making life on your own, and not depending on others, being everything you can be without depending on others

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MEMPSestina
07-25-2002

Rated 0 
i totally agree flick

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penelope
08-16-2002

Rated 0 
"i am not an angry girl
but it seems like i've got everyone fooled
every time i say something they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger
and never to their own fear "

totally my song....ani's awesome.

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catherineks
04-02-2003

Rated 0 
she irritates me a lot of times, but this song I like and even sort of agree with and relate to.

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4:20chick4eva!
04-20-2003

Rated +1 
this is one of ani's best songs..i listen to it all the time...this is oneof my favorite lines "i am not an angry girl but it seems like i've got everyone fooled
every time i say something they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger
and never to their own fear "~ b/c its so true people fear what the dont understand/ and dont wanna believe

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sexy80sbabe
04-19-2004

Rated 0 
i love this song its definetly an anthem for me ... i think it was one of my first ani songs. i love the liberation of wanting to get outside the normal gender roles of only being a "pretty girl" and not being allowed to be angry, always having to be rescued, and not being allowed to authentically be your own person. wah amazing.

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GoOgOoGiRL77
10-30-2004

Rated 0 
I love the line
"Don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down whether or not you ever show up."

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bleedingmaskarah
03-01-2005

Rated +1 
this song is kinda empowering. i love it to death.

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Empress Sun
03-04-2005

Rated +1 
Best feminist song ever. Well, at least it's certainly my favorite.

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bleedingmaskarah
03-27-2005

Rated 0 
this is my fucking anthem

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rash_decision
04-08-2005

Rated 0 
This song is fucking brilliant,it's about not wanting to fulfill the mould of perfect beauty and instead finding happiness through being yourself,being dependant on yourself and not some guy. I love the line 'i have earned my disillusionment ' so much.

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pumkinhed
09-11-2005

Rated 0 
feminism, blah blah, girl power blah blah, I vs. they, blah blah, but maybe she decided that although she doesn't want to surrender her principles, maybe sacrifices need to be made in order to make it big.

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mickzzzzzz
01-05-2006

Rated 0 
To me, a pretty girl is someone who doesn't speak up for themself, or who doesn't express themself. I don't think this song describes a specific patriarchal relationship between a woman and a man where the man expects the woman to 'fit the mould'; rather, i think ani is saying that in general she doesn't fit the passive role expected of her as a woman in our patriarchal society. I think this song may be ani's response to the label of angry feminist that she got alot from the media. She seems to be speaking to a wider audience rather than a specific person.

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mimis
04-11-2006

Rated +1 
I adore this song. so much genius.

"Don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down whether or not you ever show up." - i love this line too! its what u want to say to those macho men, but cant put into words, this is the perfect metaphor for it.

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Yuyi
04-12-2006

Rated 0 
you know what else I love about this song besides the perfectly engineered lyrics...? It's the strength of her voice that helps the message get through. This is a fucking awsome song, but then again...Ani is a total genious on every single one of her songs.

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Ani_Smith
06-04-2006

Rated 0 
I love the "and i have earned my disillusionment
i have been working all of my life
and i am a patriot
i have been fighting the good fight" I often get attacked for being unamerican or against my country because of my views, which I often find funny but also kind of resent. I do often fight the good fight and for little thanks--been called some pretty awful things while escorting women into abortion clinics. Anyway the whole song is great, but I love that little portion.

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missme
12-09-2006

Rated 0 
"i want to be more than pretty girl" - love it. a song of courage & ambition.

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aydiosmio
12-14-2006

Rated 0 
"...a girl just trying to finally come clean, knowing full well they'd prefer you were dirty and smiling." -- Brilliant.

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larissawillems
02-08-2007

Rated 0 
don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down
whether or not you ever show up??

best line!

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raffishtenant2
10-29-2007

Rated 0 
This one just has to make you smile and cheer. It's a feminist anthem, first and foremost -- but if it's not too presumptuous, speaking as a guy, it's also a song for anyone who was never quite able to be what that person who meant so much wanted them to be, whether due to their flaws or yours or maybe a bit of both. (See also her "Untouchable Face" and "32 Flavors," which are along the same lines.)

The message here is: "Take me and love me as I am, or don't. Your call, and potentially your loss if you decline." It's rarely been expressed with more passion, let alone with more wit.

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feaad
01-13-2008

Rated 0 
I love Ani's feminism because I feel that it is - at least in most cases that I've seen/heard - like this song: it's about being whoever you want to be. I don't feel that feminism is about "rising up against oppressive patriarchal society" but about something individual, and strong. To me, this song says "Be who you are, not what's "expected", and face down any and all who try to keep you in their box because it makes them feel better." I don't need to be rescued, thanks.

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maryannanoel
02-25-2008

Rated 0 
i actually got this title tattooed on my side, all the way up from hip bone to just under the breastes area. ani difranco is so eloquent. i love this song, and it should inspire every one to be brave and real, and to stand on their own.

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raffishtenant2
02-26-2008

Rated 0 
Bravo, maryannanoel. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to get it burned into my skin, but then, I'm male and all, so it'd be pretty much stating the obvious.

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Sayna
07-13-2008

Rated 0 
Very well said, Ani Smith.

feaad, I think that feminism is both about fighting the patriarchy and being yourself at the same time. I think that being yourself and not being defined by stereotypes and limits is an important part of fighting the patriarchy.

As the old feminist slogan goes: "The personal is political".

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missme
04-14-2009

Rated 0 
"i am not an angry girl
but it seems like i've got everyone fooled
every time i say something they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger
and never to their own fear"

love those lines. such an anthem.

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