Seneca Falls
Cat Faber, 2012

Five women sat talking at afternoon tea
One spark a great fire ignites
They decided to hold a convention to be
About women’s conditions and rights
It must have felt practically crazy to try
So different their lives in that distant July
Now a world greatly bettered in honor recalls
The Women’s Convention at Seneca Falls.

They borrowed a Methodist chapel, but they were
Locked out by mistake on that day
Beth’s nephew crept in through the window for her
And let everyone in the back way
As liberty barred from debate will dispatch
A friend through the window to lift up the latch
Now a world greatly bettered in honor recalls
The Women’s Convention at Seneca Falls.

They drafted a bold declaration of rights
With sentiments any must note
Their method to set the injustice to rights
Proposed giving women the vote
And one hundred people signed on to it then
Sixty-eight women and thirty-two men
And a world greatly bettered in honor recalls
The Women’s Convention at Seneca Falls.

A fire too many times smothered, this theme
As often would rise up anew
But of all the people who signed for the dream
Only one lived to see it come true
But so it may be that the work we begin
Takes more than one lifetime to finally win
Now a world greatly bettered in honor recalls
The Women’s Convention at Seneca Falls.

Notes

Dr. Cat Faber is one of my favorite musicians and writers: smart, funny, humanely satirical, she tells stories that teach without preaching. I am deeply grateful to Cat for letting me share this song to honor the centennial of the nineteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. If you want to check out more of Cat's music (and you totally should), click here.

Academic content standards addressed by this song:
Every state has their own way of doing history. Remember how much trouble we had when we tried to settle on a common set of math standards? Try doing that with history, I dare you. But here are some themes that most states address in one way or another:
-biography
-civil rights
-women's rights
-citizen activism