I'm giving away free music to celebrate Women's Equality Day! On August 26, 1920, after a 72-year struggle, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the U.S. was finally ratified, granting women the right to vote nationwide. In 1977, President Carter designated August 26 as Women's Equality Day, as a reminder of women's continuing efforts for equality.

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2) This next step varies by operating system and browser, but choose something like:
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3) Import it into your MP3 software as you normally do!

Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be? (Lyrics: L. May Wheeler) Gerri Gribi, THE WOMANSONG COLLECTION. BMI All Rights Reserved
Download a songsheet with lyrics (and other resources) here.

For the first 150 years of our nation's history, "democracy" excluded more than half the population. This changed only after one of the longest, most remarkable and successful nonviolent efforts the world has ever seen. The suffrage movement was born in 1848, at a time when women were not legal entities. They had no rights to their property, their children, or even their own bodies...which makes their achievement even more remarkable!

Like any civil rights movement, this one used music to rally the "troops." Wheeler set her words to a popular turn-of-the-century parlor tune; it satirizes some reasons popularly given for denying women the vote. The 19th Amendment was certified on August 26, 1920.

We Will Not Stop, We Will Not Go Away Gerri Gribi, THE WOMANSONG COLLECTION © 1983 BMI All Rights Reserved

These words echo a speech made by NOW president Judy Goldsmith in 1983, the day that the newly introduced Equal Rights Amendment was defeated in Congress. (The first Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in 1920, shortly after women gained suffrage.) She reminded her audience that it had taken 72 years for women to win the right to vote, and declared, "We will not stop, and we will not go away."