“Courage Is A Woman”

Words and music by Sarah Partridge.  Commissioned by the American Medical Women’s Association

On a cool September day in western Oregon,

I roamed a cemetary looking for her grave.

A modest marker bore her name,

And was hidden in the shade.

A shocking contrast to the legacy she’d made.

In a time that is alive only in history,

There is a girl who lives a life like you and me.

But her dreams reach far and wide.

She pursues them all with pride.

A loving doctor is the first life she would lead.

Chorus:

But there was more to come, so much more..

So many lives she lived and saved in scores.

There was love and joy and pain…

But she fought the fight and won the game.

While the politics of health lay in the voting man,

A woman’s say was not enough to make a change.

Her little boy had died in vain.

Empowered women seized the day.

Her coalitions marched ahead and paved the way.

Everybody’s Equal Suffrage League was hers to claim.

Free from cliques and class distinctions, meant for all.

Local grievances were aired.

Granting suffrage was impaired.

But in the end these acts of courage were absolved.

Chorus.

A major barrier to health was inequality.

The instability of life beyond our shores.

Refugees in need of care,

Disease and suffering everywhere.

Her social justice was an answer to the wars.

She lived her life forever challenging society.

Humanitarian for women of the world.

Her civic policies were bold,

A broader vision would unfold..

Nearly a century of change that still unfurls.

Chorus.

Last tag line after “But she fought the fight and won the game

…Tell our children to remember her name”.