Almanac (Footy) Music: The Women have Come to Play

 

Click on the arrow to listen to ‘The Women have Come to Play’. If it doesn’t start, click on the arrow again.

 

From Verity Sanders:

 

Hi Almanac team

 

Thanks for your terrific work and presence in the footy space, particularly women’s footy more recently (I’ve just ordered my copy of The Women’s Footy Almanac 2017, and looking forward to an entertaining read with a glass of something suitable to warm a wintry night!)

 

To cut to the chase – having spent my childhood chasing a footy around the backyard (and still have the scars to show for it ) I was elated, along with many others, to see the creation of the Women’s League and its success this year – this has inevitably inspired a song (couldn’t help myself) called ‘The Women Have Come to Play’. I worked in the music industry as a musician/songwriter throughout the 80s, when being a female in a very male industry was a huge, and not always pleasant, challenge – and so have been inspired by the extraordinary current crop of young women in sport and music (and beyond) who won’t take no for an answer, and who are taking advantage of this beautifully messy time of change to shine a light on the benefits to all of us (including men) of ensuring that everyone can bring their unique and valuable perspective to their life’s passion.

 

Football has been a part of my family DNA for as long as I can remember, but I’ve always felt quite disengaged from the majority of footy songs that have banged around for many decades – it seems they fit into one of three categories – (1) the ad man’s jingle anthems ( Up there Cazaley etc) which are usually very blokey,  ‘the boys are back’ songs, and not always suited to the women’s take on the game   (2) the humorous ( and sometimes pretty dodgy) bbq ditties , and (3) the standard mainstream songs – of which there are surprisingly very few, given the enormous space that football takes up in much of the population’s lives and memories – the best are Paul Kelly’s ‘Leaps and Bounds’ (recalling atmospheric afternoons at the MCG) and Mick Thomas’ wonderful ‘Monday’s Experts’ – but otherwise not many.  So to help fill that void in the great Oz musical landscape (someone’s got to do it ) we’ve come up with this song as our contribution to celebrate the women’s game in particular.   I wanted to avoid footy clichés, but also wanted the song to be simple and sing-along-able – an essential element of songs about common joys and experiences.

 

P.S.  The song is released on our own label (Trinity) and is available in the digital music stores and on the usual streaming services.

 

The Women have Come to Play   (The world at her feet)

 

Chorus

Carry us all away
Laughing the tears away
It’s her time to shine, and show the way
The women have come to play

 

Verse 1

She plays with a fearless band
Full of speed and grace
A battle on her hands
And a smile on her face
The ground breaks beneath her feet, as she dances down the line
Her team around to lift her up, or catch her when she falls
This is her time

 

Chorus repeat

 

Verse 2

The world at her feet , she’s writing history
Turning rivers of dreams into reality
She’s such a natural , now her voice will take its place
With fathers and brothers, together they’ll embrace
This football life

 

Chorus repeat

 

Bridge

 

Every one a story to tell
of the oval at the edge of town
Training in the car headlights
As the rain came down
She is the bird released
the angel and the beast

 

 

Verse 3

And when she flies
She writes her name across the sky
Unhinge your heart
As she runs back against the tide
But all she really wants is the chance to make her way
And the freedom to love this world
This football life

 

Chorus x 3

(Shout it out)

Carry us all away
Laughing the tears away
It’s her time to shine, and show the way
The women have come to play

Comments

  1. Yvette Wroby says

    This is wonderful and I hope we can spread it around. So catchy! Enjoy the read, it matches your music.

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