Kate Reid: Music

• MP3 play whole song, hi-fi (broadband)

Uncharted Territory

I’m walking into the unknown
Into uncharted territory
And I know there are people out there
Who don’t agree with me
Cuz I sing about who I am
And I’m sorry that’s so hard for them

But I’ve been putting in time dreaming
And I’ve got something different in mind
I just hope I’m not ahead of my time
You see, I want to burst the floodgates open
On this soulless river
And I’m a pretty good swimmer
But I’ve been swimming upstream for far too long

And I’m not into politics
And the guys in office who mouth off
Because as far as I’m concerned
There ain’t much else happening there
And I must admit, I pretended to care
So people would think I was smart
When it’s women and music and the Earth and art
That moves me

And I’m political just by loving who I love
By being who I am, you see it’s an act of rebellion
So I guess that makes me one hellava
Rebellious, political, singer-songwriting, earth-loving
Woman-identified woman

Chorus:
I know people are either going to love me or hate me
That’s the way it is in the biz and in the world, too
And I’ve heard guys at the top of the food chain
Talking about what I shouldn’t sing about
Talking about what they think about me
I’ve heard women say, “She’s great but she’s kinda angry and Why does she keep on singing about her sexuality?”
Well, it’s a little more interesting to me than
What I’m seeing on TV and what I’m hearing on the
Top 40 radio

You see, I’m a woman who has survived a lifetime of
Violence and lies
At the hands of my family and the patriarchy
And it nearly killed me
And silence was my only friend
And now my guitar and my voice and my pen are my companions
And where these songs come from, I don’t know
Cuz I’m singing words I wrote years ago
And they’re just starting to make sense to me now

Chorus:
There are parts of me that have to die so that I can become more alive
And I have wished that if I cry enough, my tears will subside And the fear in me will disappear
And I have looked in the mirror hoping to see someone else
Hoping these lines on my face will have been erased
But I have finally reached the place where I won’t erase myself
And I won’t let anyone else

And I wanna see my name in lights and have people
Lined up down the street
And I wanna fill every seat in the house
I wanna be backed by an orchestra with standing room only
At the door
So who cares if I’m a lesbian, I didn’t mean for it to happen
I think I just caught it while standing in line
Athe bank the other day
So let’s make a deal here,
You don’t make like your straight in front of me
And I won’t rub it in your face that I’m queer

Chorus:
So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet
I’ve got something to say and it’s my time to say it
And I’m not acquiescent and I’m done with being complacent
So consider yourself warned, cuz I’m just warming up
And when people who live 3,000 miles away tell me that my Music makes their day and my words make their hearts sing
I know in my soul I’m doing the right thing
I’m doing the right thing