‘How can a person be expected to live / with no autonomy / with no choice in what they get?” sings Jaspar Lepak on this great live recording of a new song that was in an urgent hurry to get written and recorded. So, there will be a full version on Lepak’s next album but this version was laid down in the studio on July 16th, just days after it was written and only a few weeks after the event that had prompted it into life.
Jaspar Lepack elaborated on the song’s origin and meaning: “I wrote ‘I Am Human’ in the weeks following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The anger and loss I felt in my body was immeasurable, along with the fear I felt for all of the women whose lives this ruling would devastate. Even though I have never had an abortion, I have had a miscarriage, and the same care used to terminate a pregnancy is used to assist in miscarriage. We are putting women’s lives and health at risk at a time of the greatest vulnerability. Abortion is healthcare, and a woman is a human being.”
These are indeed strange times when it is necessary to point that little fact out – but with the court having other freedoms in their sights – like access to contraception and same sex marriages – it’s not only timely but a deeply disturbing reminder of liberties on the verge of being curtailed. Just a reminder, this is the 21st century, not the 19th.
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Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan’s music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That’s not much to ask, is it?
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