Difranco, Ani - Play God Lyrics






I was done at 16
Showin up for class
I was out there
In the ring
Learnin how to kick some ass
I was done at 16
Using my momma's key
It was all on me
Yes it was all on me

Weren't no free rides
Weren't no IOU's
I pulled my weight
I paid my dues
And I showed up
To enlist
On the first day of recruits
How bout you?
How bout you

I'm my brother's keeper
Every chance I can
I pay my taxes
Like any working man
And I feel I've earned
My right to choose
You don't get to play God, man
I do
You don't get to play God, man
I do

You get to run the world
In your special way
You get much more
Much more than your say
Government, religion
It's all just patriarchy
I must insist
You leave this one thing to me

Just one thing that a man needs
To be truly free
This is the modern world
And that one thing is money
But there are two things
That a woman needs
Control over her own body

Yes I pay the price
On top of everything
Each month a bill
Each month a reckoning
And each seed that dies
I cry and I bleed
So you can't tell me
No you can't tell me

I am a soldier
It's my blood that flows
I'd give my life
So that this tree can grow
You don't know creation
Like I know
So you can't tell me
No you can't tell me

I'm my brother's keeper
Every chance I can
I pay my taxes
Like any workin man
And I feel I've earned
My right to choose
You don't get to play God
I do
You don't get to play God
I do
You don't get to play God
I do





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Difranco, Ani Play God Comments
  1. R.... D....

    Lov it ! This

  2. C.... B....

    Ani, I just had an abortion a week from Tuesday. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I'm physically recovering, but the emotional aspects are there, esp since I'm in an abusive relationship. Abortion is always presented as a black and white, you choose a life and are an angel, or you terminate and you're the devil. I have the right to choose. You don't get to play god. I do. Thank you for inspiring me from a very young age to be the woman I am today to make this decision with confidence.

    C.... B....

    And you're brave enough to talk about it in a forum like YouTube where there are so many trolls you never know what sort of crap might come up? Damn, you are one brave woman! Here's to you and every other woman making the right choice for herself. None of this angel or devil garbage, just a woman trying to get through life the best she can. I hope you find the strength to either get out of your relationship or find a way to make change for the better. You don't deserve the unhappiness of that instability. Hugs!

  3. L.... H....

    This week, in 2019, in the Regressive States of America, governor Kay Ivey of Alabama signed a bill into law that prohibits abortion after 8 weeks, even if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest. Missouri is poised to do the same thing.

    Ani - you have been a source of strength for me to fight against these civil rights oppressors since the 90's. Planned Parenthood was there for me when I needed them. You have been making music long enough now that your principled brilliance is resonating to the new generations. Woody and Pete are proud, I'm sure. Much, much love to you, beautiful sister.

  4. A.... C....

    Ani we need your songs again. Canada is undergoing a trial by fire and water. The US just broke international law. And women in politics are on the move in a way they haven't been since suffrage. ♀♀♀

  5. C.... J....

    I dedicate this song to conservatives out of Alabama.

    C.... J....

    I just shared it with the same message. 💖 Let's share the hell out of this song!

    C.... J....

    And to Ana Kasperian and Meghan McCain. Ana fired shots over the bow.

  6. s.... ....

    Happy momma's day, a'lil belayed... Love "daN"

  7. C.... S....

    Omg. Raw and beautiful just like your first stuff!! Loveeeee

  8. C.... J....

    Can anyone at Righteous Babe relay my message to Ani. Can she please do a collaboration with Buffy Sainte Marie? That needs to happen. I think those two together would create something magnificent.

  9. S.... M....

    ANI YOU'RE THE GOAT!!!!!!!!!!! I'M GRATEFUL TO BE HERE WITH WOMEN LIKE YOU, LIKE US!

  10. D.... W....

    I was done at 16
    Showing up for class
    I was out there in the ring
    Learning how to kick some ass
    I was done at 16
    Using my momma's key
    It was all on me
    It was all on me

    Weren't no free rides
    Weren't no IOU's
    I pulled my weight, yeah
    I paid my dues
    And I showed up to enlist
    On the first day of recruits
    How 'bout you?
    How 'bout you

    I'm my brother's keeper
    Every chance I can
    I pay my taxes
    Like any working man
    And I feel I've earned
    My right to choose
    You don't get to play God, man, I do
    You don't get to play God, man, I do

    [Chorus]
    You get to run the world
    In your special way
    You get much more
    Much more than your say
    Government, religion
    It's all just patriarchy
    I must insist you leave this one thing to me
    Just leave this one thing to me
    Just leave this one thing to me
    Just leave this one thing

    'Cause there's one thing that a man needs
    To be truly free
    This is the modern world
    And that one thing is money
    But there are two things
    That a woman needs
    Control over her own body

    Yeah I pay the price
    On top of everything
    Each month a bill
    Each month a reckoning
    And each seed that dies
    I cry and I bleed
    So you can't tell me
    No you can't tell me

    I am a soldier
    It's my blood that flows
    I'd give my life
    So that this tree can grow
    You don't know creation
    Like I know
    So you can't tell me
    No you can't tell me

    [Chorus]
    You get to run the world
    In your special way
    You get much more
    Much more than your say
    Government, religion
    It's all just patriarchy
    I must insist you leave this one thing to me
    Just leave this one thing to me
    Just leave this one thing
    Just leave this one thing to me

    'Cause I'm my brother's keeper
    Every chance I can
    I pay my taxes
    Like any workin man
    And I feel I've earned
    My right to choose
    You don't get to play God, man, I do
    You don't get to play God, man, I do
    You don't get to play God, man, I do

  11. L.... P....

    shit whAT

  12. L.... R....

    that about sums it all up!

  13. n.... o....

    i came here because josh sundquist described her as "guitar picking played as background music while ani, an angry, dreadlocked feminist lesbian, spouts diatribes against men"
    i was deeply disappointed. maybe i should listen to older stuff

  14. T.... a....

    I love you Ani! Hope I can interview sometime for Women's Liberation Radio News. https://wlrnmedia.wordpress.com/

  15. R.... S....

    This Russian chica, Rachael, is awesome...I just had to get to Know her.... (( <3 ))***.

  16. E.... H....

    Awesomeness once again.

  17. J.... W....

    Thank you for the concert @vicarstreet last night Ani!! This song wow!! #repealthe8th new anthem!!

  18. C.... J....

    this video is appalling fire your stylist... where is joan now that we need here....

  19. G.... W....

    This song is great live but the studio version is nauseating...

  20. A.... B....

    Ani, you are my heroine.

  21. C.... D....

    I've grown up listening to Ani since I was 10 years old. She has matured and evolved over the years, that is for sure. I still feel an intense connection to her earlier songs but that is more of a reflection of me as a person and where I am in my life than it is on her as a songwriter and artist. I can still connect to many of her newer songs and the older I get the more I relate to her newer work. This song I can definitely relate to. The message behind it is timeless and should transcend generations. This is a woman's anthem and we should be thankful that there is a person on this earth that is able to put out work like this, something that has meaning in this day and age is hard to find. Sad but true.

    C.... D....

    "I am a soldier, it's my blood that flows." That line made my hair strand on end.

  22. S.... P....

    You rock Ani. Keep spreadin' the good word sista. On we march!

  23. m.... ....

    Thank you, "Righteous Babe!"

    #NastyWomenUnite

  24. K.... G....

    I am still grateful each day that I got to walk on this giant rock at the same time as.this.woman.

    K.... G....

    Me too!

  25. K.... E....

    I love everything about this!

  26. L.... P....

    Ani guides me. ❤

  27. J.... ....

    Finally a music video from ANI!!!! We've been waiting forever.

  28. T.... U....

    i missed her so much!!!!! welcome back ani : )

  29. P.... S....

    In the face of overwhelming polarization on the issue of abortion, I find Ani's enduring optimism incredibly inspiring.
    You've got to be a little egotistical to think you can write a song that will change a significant number of people's view.
    At the same time you've got to have an unabashed faith in humanity to even try.
    Without both nothing will ever happen.
    Rock on Ani,
    Rock on.

  30. G.... ....

    I am not saying that women should not have control over their own bodies, but being a Christian, I could never condone a woman's decision to have an abortion (a taking of a life) under any circumstances, Period!

    G.... ....

    Yes...wow, that is quite a mouthful. It seems the first thought may be what you believe, and the second what you must. But that is just a silly guess.

    G.... ....

    How am I contradicting myself? A Christian not supporting abortion, that is logical, since the Bible does not teach or encourage it, it is because it is murder on any day of the week.

    G.... ....

    Shady Ape that's not true. you can believe in choice up to so many weeks of fetal development.

    G.... ....

    Gas8666 That's your choice to choose. Doesn't everyone deserve the right to make that choice for themselves? The life we live and the decisions we make as human beings are different. I'm not particularly religious, but I believe in everyone's right to choose if they are or not. That's their choice to make. Be thankful you have that choice and people are not fighting to take it away from you.

  31. A.... ....

    Cool song, but equating reproductive rights as something that solely concerns "women" (read: cis-women) is transphobic and taking two steps back. Disappointing.

    A.... ....

    Alice C mev2 rotfl

    A.... ....

    I don't see where is she taking over the word "woman"? The only times she's using it is once in the video writing "trust women" and once on the lyrics to say "women need control over their own bodies". Both applies to cis and trans. "Reproductive right=civil rights" doesn't contradict it either. The rest of the song she's talking more on a very personal level, and on a social scale when reflecting on patriarchy. Of course cis-women are privileged compare to trans-women, but we'll never get anywhere if ALL women can't have access to control what happens to our bodies. And to fight for one cause within the wholeness of the movement doesn't minimise the other causes, don't you think? Just my thoughts.

  32. J.... F....

    Please create a definition of personhood whereby a fetus is excluded but not included are also other persons whom you find it reprehensible were someone to actively end their existence. (example: self-sufficient as a criteria instantly fails for most people because numerous examples such as patient under anesthesia, etc..)

    Note: A fan of Ani's music but not this particular position.

    J.... F....

    So your position is that personhood is relative and thus killing them might or not be wrong/evil/etc.? In this case, doesn't rule by law becomes quite implausible? What is then the criteria for personhood of any kind?

    J.... F....

    ... Um, no? Did you understand what I wrote? I said that *perhaps personhood is arbitrary*. This is a position in which personhood may exist, but is not a tenable and exact measurement of rights. I also said that *perhaps killing is not directly wrong*. A direct wrong refers to a classic utilitarian principle, wherein, in this argument, the killing of a fetus does not directly wrong the fetus, because said killing is not *inherently* wrong. Rule of law does not become implausible; humans already do not grant personhood rights onto other humans (see torture, capital punishment, slavery, etc.) Also, because I am considering that personhood is arbitrary, I do not need to "create," as you demand, a new definition that makes it tenable. And Jordan, I am leaving this conversation now.

    J.... F....

    You and I very much disagree on 1)absoluteness of personhood 2) the inalienable rights of said person and 2) the inherent wrongness of killing said person.

    J.... F....

    Sure thing. Kill all humans, man.

    J.... F....

    http://blog.secularprolife.org/2013/02/arguments-against-fetal-personhood.html

  33. B.... E....

    Yeeeah!! I dig this funky beat. All hail Ani the amazing! All hail women - true creators!

    B.... E....

    Ani D., is a force of Nature!

  34. l.... ....

    Yas! Ani, this song is so groovy and great. Who says you can't be political and pleasurable art at the same time?!

  35. D.... M....

    Fantastic!

  36. T.... ....

    ... and folks in the US of A, please please please vote - and do the right thing... thanks on behalf of the world

    T.... ....

    TheHarolda1 that means stein or Trump.... we are done taking your violent immigrants.. Mexicans maybe... no more .Muslims...

    T.... ....

    This comment is from 1939. Don't forget the Jews and commies, patriot!

    Wait, Stein? Jill Stein? You don't even have a set of coherent beliefs do you? Sit in an air conditioned office and whine about your petty little safety concerns while others struggle for life.

    But thankfully your favorite ISIS recruiter is now pussy-grabber in-chief! His childish saber-rattling will certainly keep America safe from terrorism, not provoke it! and those provocations wont be used by elites to justify killing even more of our kids! Just focus on the talking heads of your chosen sports team endlessly stroke each-other from sea to shining sea, CNN to Sean Hannity. Thinking isn't free and it's screwing you and me.

    Just let us know when you've found out you're been conned and come fight to remove the corrupting influence of money that gave us this international shit-show election. We can and must do this despite our fundamental disagreements.

    If you want Trump to do more than pander to you, heed these words. If we don't stand united against bipartisan corruption, our collective future is in the shitter. This isn't television.

    T.... ....

    please US of A, implode, thanks on behalf of the world.

  37. T.... ....

    Thank you so much for yet another magnificent tune. So sorry I missed you in Amsterdam two years ago.

  38. c.... ....

    Sorry, not for me. I've loved your old stuff up to the amazing Reprieve, but couldn't quite get into Red Letter and the rest didn't resonate with me. Still, I think you're awesome and will never stop listening to the old tunes.xx

    c.... ....

    I'm kind of the same. Red Letter took 4ish years to make sense to me. Something about the maturity I personally gained finally caught up with tone of the album. I had to live through Gravel and Dialate. On the other side was an understanding of mortality and making the most of my time walking this earth.

    c.... ....

    cardiacade up to reprieve was where she went to hell production and politics wise

    c.... ....

    john christopher I kind of agree but these new songs are some of her strongest in a while. The production is horrible and don't do the songs justice. They sound way better live and that's just with her 3 piece.

  39. S.... ....

    Ani rocking as usual.

  40. s.... ....

    I'm with ya on this...ALL THE WAY!

  41. m.... ....

    YEEESSS an actual video!
    I've been loving this song live and now FUCKING LOVE the studio version!
    Thank you!

    m.... ....

    There was one for Blood in the Boardroom, but it's disappeared now. I don't know what happened to it.
    The one for Woebegone is pretty cool too, but this is tops.

  42. B.... B....

    i've missed you. thanks for being mss Di

  43. W.... ....

    love you Ani ❤