ONE IN A MILLION
(Janis Ian/Jess Leary)

WE ARE ONE
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG
IN MY DARKEST NIGHT
I HOLD ON TO THAT LIGHT
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG

WE ARE ONE
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG
IN MY DARKEST NIGHT
I HOLD ON TO THAT LIGHT
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG

WE ARE FREE
WE ARE FREE AS AN EAGLE
WE ARE FREE AS AN EAGLE FLIES
WHEN THEY’VE TAKEN MY WINGS
STILL MY SPIRIT WILL SING
WE ARE FREE AS AN EAGLE FLIES

WE ARE ONE
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG
IN MY DARKEST NIGHT
I HOLD ON TO THAT LIGHT
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG
WE ARE ONE IN A MILLION STRONG

Words & music by Janis ian & Jess Leary; © Local Stranger Music (BMI)/MaryLearyMusic (ASCAP)


One In A Million (Janis a capella)

One in a Million (Live)

Patience and Sarah is a 1969 historical fiction novel with strong lesbian themes by Alma Routsong, using the pen name Isabel Miller, now narrated by legendary singer, songwriter Janis Ian and Emmy award winning actress/director Jean Smart. It tells the story of two women in Connecticut in 1816 who fall in love and decide to leave their homes to buy a farm in another state or territory and live in a Boston marriage. The story addresses the limited opportunities and roles of women in early America, gender expression, and the interpretation of religion in everyday life. For a full download of this book contact Janis Ian at janis@janisian.com.

Patience And Sarah Sample 4 Jean

Patience And Sarah Sample 3 Janis

Patience And Sarah Sample 2 Janis

Patience And Sarah Sample 1 Jean

A tribute track from legendary singer/songwriter Janis Ian for the show "Getting On" starring Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein, Niecy Nash, Rita Moreno, and Harry Dean Stanton. Available on 11/1/15 for digital purchase on janisian.com, iTunes, and Amazon. Arranged by Janis Ian & Randy Leago.
Sax solo: Randy Leago
Lyrics available at http://store.janisianstore.com/mp3gettingon.html

Getting On

Here's a collection of singles from Janis Ian including: "Black & White" (from Hunger), "Murdering Stravinsky" (from God & The FBI), "Hunger" (from Hunger), "Ginny the Flying Girl" (from Best of Janis Ian), and "Silly Habits" (from Working Without a Net).

Silly Habits

Ginny The Flying Girl

"Black and White" from the album God and the FBI by Janis Ian.

Black And White

Murdering Stravinsky

Writers: Janis Ian & Russ Taff
A song celebrating love and the holiday season. 

A THOUSAND YEARS
There is silence on the street tonight
and the cars have all gone home
Every shop has locked its doors up tight
getting ready for the show
And it’s time for me to go

There’s a roaring fire and a rocking chair
and a stocking full of dreams
Every corner’s filled with a joyful air
and the scent of evergreen
We will toast peace on earth
Raise a glass of Christmas cheer
And ask this night to last a thousand years 

A thousand years
A thousand years
We will ask this night to last a thousand years

If the sky belonged to me alone
and my dreams could all come true
I would give to every child a home
like the one I share with you
So let us toast peace on earth
and good fortune everywhere
And ask this night to last a thousand years 

I will wrap my heart in a silver bow
And place it in your hands
For your love’s the gift I cherish most
Out of all the gifts I’ve had

A thousand years
A thousand years
We will ask this night to last
a thousand years

A Thousand Years (2011)

Here's some audio excerpts from Ginny Gilder's new book, Course Correction, narrated by Janis Ian:
https://vimeo.com/160002060
https://vimeo.com/171618805
https://vimeo.com/160002063
https://vimeo.com/171618802

We're also pleased to announce that, for the month of July, Course Correction is a free download at https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9780692670347-course-correction!

Lyrics to "Play Like a Girl"

I remember when boys told me --
You play like a girl
It's a matter of genetic history
You play like a girl

You can't be in our band
You don't play like a man
but there's one thing you can do
Teach us to play like you 

	Now all over this big wide world, 
	I play like a girl
	From the California lights 
	to the Serengetti nights
	I play like a girl

When I was ten years old, I was told -- 
You can't play baseball
You've got to pitch underhand
You can't throw it like a man
You won't be any good at all

Girls don't know how to have fun
Girls don't last in the long run
Girls give birth and stuff but
They're not really tough enough

Now all over this big wide world
	I play like a girl
	From the California lights 
	to the Serengetti nights
	I play like a girl

		I don't want to be Elvis, 
		Mickey Mantle or Babe
		This isn't a contest
		I just want to make some music
		Have a good time while I do it

I don't need permission
to change this tradition
When they tell me "You can't play"
I just turn my back and say

	Now all over this big wide world
	I play like a girl
	From the California lights to the Serengetti nights
	I play like a girl
	I play like a girl
	I play like a girl


Play Like A Girl

Lyrics to "I'm Still Standing":

See these lines on my face?
They're a map of where I've been
And the deeper they are traced,
the deeper life has settled in
How do we survive
living out our lives?

  And I would not trade a line
  Make it smooth and fine
  or pretend that time stands still
  I want to rest my soul
  here where it can grow without fear
  Another line, another year
  I'm still standing here

See these marks on my skin?
They are the lyric of my life
Every story I begin
just means another end's in sight
Only lovers understand
Skin just covers who I am

  Chorus

    See these bruises, see these scars?
    Hieroglyphs that tell the tale
    You can read them in the dark
    through your fingertips, like Braille

  And I would not trade a line
  Make it smooth and fine
  or pretend that time stands still
  I want to rest my soul
  here where it can grow without fear
  Another line, another year
  I'm still standing here
  I'm still standing here
  I'm still standing here!!

c. Rude Girl Pub. All rights reserved. Lefts are still open.

I'm Still Standing

Brand new track to Soundcloud from Janis.

Lyrics to Swannanoa:
Swannanoa, I can hear you
call my name upon the wind
If I fall behind, don’t worry
You will see my face again
You will see my face again

Swannanoa, I am longing
for my home so far away
I will carry you within me
from the cradle to the grave
From the cradle to the grave

	And the mountains and the mist
	and the white clouds they kissed
	And the sweetgum’s perfume
	in my hair

When these hard times have passed
I will see you at last
Swannanoa, I’ll be home to stay
Oh my darling, I’ll be home to stay


Swannanoa

"The Song Unsung" by Rabindranath Tagore, narr. Janis Ian, music Rupam Sarmah.
From "Action Moves People United", available at all regular digital outlets. Additional Soundcloud link:
https://soundcloud.com/actionmovespeopleunited/sets/action-moves-people-united/s-fZIsl
Created as part of the UNESCO World Peace Project: http://www.actionmovespeopleunited.org/

The Song Unsung

Don't Throw Your Love Away from Janis Ian.

Don't Throw Your Love Away

THE GREAT DIVIDE from the album "Folk Is The New Black"
(Janis Ian)

Come good people and gather ‘round
Step out of the water before you drown
Tide is coming swift and deep, gonna knock you off your feet
There’s a tide of greed that knows no shame
and a tide of money that holds no stain
A tide of men who worship pride and will not be denied

	While politicians lie and cheat to get to higher ground,
	we follow them like sheep, and salute them as we drown
	but no man will be king when all men wear the crown,
	and there will be a reckoning 
	from deep inside the rising tide
	as we tear down the walls of the Great Divide

Come good people and gather here
You who still hold freedom dear
Step across the waters. Bring your sons and daughters
Some will sink and some will swim
Some will walk on the water again
Some will rise and some will fall. Each one will hear the call

	While churches counsel patience and heavenly reward
	they sub-divide our nations by the shield and by the sword
	and every congregation has a pipeline to the lord
	but there will be no salvation
	and no place to hide for those who lied
	and buried us alive to build the walls of the Great Divide

And oh, when the poorest of the poor
		come knocking at the door, 	they will not be denied
		And oh, when those who took too much
		are stripped of it & judged, mercy will provide for the rising tide

So come good people and gather ‘round
Come and stand on common ground
Raise your voices up and sing, let’s make the heavens ring
And you whose silence costs your soul
Learn to speak or dig your hole
Tomorrow’s here and it won’t wait, no time to hesitate

	The tide’s already risen. The deluge is at hand
	Don’t sit there by the ocean while it sucks away the sand
	‘cause you’ll be left with nothing but the memory of land
	while we sit high above the tide
	and watch the walls begin to fall
	as one by one our children wave goodbye to the Great Divide

Folk is the New Black

The Great Divide

From the album "Strictly Solo" and the album "Hunger".

SEARCHING FOR AMERICA
(Janis Ian)

They herded us like so much meat 
up from the sewers to the street
where concrete canyons stretched their walls 
so high it made us want to crawl
Past proverbs writ on subway cars, 
and in between the window bars
We walked until that pavement bled, 
and not a curse was left unsaid

Searching for America, in the rivets and the rust
Searching for America. Finding only dust

They gave us each a cropper's shack, 
and land so hard it broke the back
Then fed us 'til our bellies burst 
on promises that died at birth
So I lay the baby out each dawn, 
in between the tender corn
with sunrise for her bonnet, 
and flies her only blanket
We harvested until we bled, 
and every single root ran red
When the work was finally done, 
they gave our names to immigration

Searching for America, all her dreams and hopes
Searching for America. Finding only ghosts

Who are these people you have seen, 
to dream this dark and distant dream?
To tell the stories you have told? 
To leave these bruises on your soul?

We are the flesh, we are the bone. 
We are the very cornerstone
We leave our mansions and our shacks 
to hide here in between the cracks
To walk when we can run no more, 
and wash up on some distant shore
where truth is not the enemy, 
and whatever does not kill us, sets us free
Somewhere out there are millions just like me
We are homesick for Eden. Heartsick at the memory

Searching for America, in every stick and stone
Searching for America. Going home
Searching for America. Going home

Strictly Solo - final mastered

Searching For America

Buddy and I wrote this some years ago, but it sure does apply now.... From the album "Breaking Silence".

GUESS YOU HAD TO BE THERE
(Janis Ian/Buddy Mondlock)

Back in nineteen sixty three, we walked a fine line
We were taking to the streets, skating on a thin dime
We were searching after truth and beauty
Now they turn it into late night movies
How can I explain that it’s not the same

	Guess you had to be there to be where
	love belonged to everyone
	Flowers in the long hair, we stood there
	singing “We shall overcome”
	Knowing the eyes of the world were on us
	Knowing the whole world cared
	Guess you had to be there

In the summer of our youth. we came together
and we knew that our truth would live forever
We were gonna make the whole world honest
when a bullet got the bravest of us
Somehow nothing else was sacred
and we all stood naked

	Guess you had to be there to be where
	love belonged to everyone
	Flowers in the long hair, we stood there
	singing “We shall overcome”
	Knowing the eyes of the world were on us
	Knowing the whole world cared
	Guess you had to be there

Now we listen to the news, and it seems all hope is gone
Everybody feeling used, and there’s nowhere left to run
Sometimes it feels like the memory
is all that’s left of our used-to-be
but what can never be denied
is the way we changed inside

	Guess you had to be there to be where
	Love belonged to everyone
	Flowers in the long hair, we stood there
	singing “We shall overcome”
	Knowing the eyes of the world were on us
	Knowing the whole world cared
	Guess you had to be there

Breaking Silence

Guess You Had to Be There (Ian-Mondlock)

You are welcome to download and share "Tattoo":
A song about the Holocaust. Chosen by the government of the Netherlands to represent their country during the European celebration of the 50th year since WW II ended. Admired by Elie Wiesel. And now, a slap in the face to Trump and his administration, who don't dare utter the word "Jew" or the phrase "anti-Semitism" as they pretend to care about Holocaust Remembrance Day. 
To my friends who say "His son-in-law is Jewish. It's okay." I say - it is NOT okay. It is a disgrace. Steve Bannon is drafting the executive orders for our country, while the  ostensible leader of the free world spends his time complaining on Twitter and watching TV. 
I remember riding in a cab with my former manager forty years ago, when I was twenty-five. The newscaster commented that gay people should not be permitted to teach in the schools, and my manager said "They shouldn't be allowed around young children. Absolutely correct." 
In confusion, I said "But... I'M gay." And her response? "Oh, but you're one of the 'good ones'."
There will always be those who say "Oh, but you're one of the good Jews" "the good blacks" "the good gays". Do not believe that will exempt you from the knock in the night.

TATTOO
(Janis Ian)

Her new name was tattooed to her wrist
It was longer than the old one
Sealed in the silence with a fist
This night will be a cold one
Centuries live in her eyes
Destiny laughs over jack-booted thighs
“Work makes us free” says the sign
Nothing leaves here alive
Tattoo

She steps out of line to the left, and her father to the right
One sides a cold, clean death. The other is an endless night
Gold from a grandmother’s tooth. 
Mountains of jewelry and toys. 
piled in the corners, mailed across the borders
Presents for the girls and boys.
Presents for the girls and boys
Tattoo

It gets darker every night
Spread-eagled out among the stars, she says
"Somewhere in this tunnel lives a light
"Still my beating heart
"I have never known a man
"What man will want me now?
"Am I still alive, somehow?
"If I can survive, somehow
"Tattooed"

Soldiers from the other side liberated them at dawn
Gave her water, gave her life. She still had all her clothes on
She lived until she died. Empty as the autumn leaves that fly
Surgeons took the mark, but they could not take it far
It was written on her heart
Written on her empty heart
Tattooed

Tattoo

1776  (Janis Ian)

Back in seventeen hundred seventy-six
We got tired of taking orders from the rich
So we drowned a little tea, and we made some history
Why did we resist? Just remember this

Everyone in government was white
Women had to fight for every right
The news was full of lies to confuse and terrorize
while the rich stayed rich, and the poor were neutralized

	Laws were passed without a rhyme or reason
	and when we disagreed, they called it treason

The king began to take away our rights
He taxed us once, and then he taxed us twice
His tantrums were notorious, even when victorious
and nothing satisfied his appetite

	Those who said “This ruler is psychotic”
	were told “You aren’t very patriotic”

He turned us into immigrants with callous treachery
We went from being citizens to being refugees
But the immigrants became Americans by name
and freed us from the yoke of tyranny
I’m so glad it’s only ancient history
‘cause it could never happen here to me

1776

1776 final mix

Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, sent me an unfinished lyric from Woody's archives. I took one look and thought "This was made for me". Woody's mom and mine had a lot in common; the first to give us instruments, the first to believe in our talent. It's a privilege to have finished the lyric and added the music, and I thank Nora and Arlo for allowing me free use of both.
I HEAR YOU SING AGAIN
(Woody Guthrie/Janis Ian)

If I could only hear my mother sing again
If I could close my eyes and hear your voice as then
All the friends and family
would sing along with me, 
and set your spirit free

In my heart I hear you sing again
Every note as natural as then
When I sing those songs
with family and friends, 
in my heart I hear you sing again

I know the troubled times that turned your hair to grey
and all the tears and sorrows followed to your grave
but deep within the heart of hunger, 
there were always melodies
passed from you to me
 
CHORUS

And it's a long, long road I've come
since my mother's songs were heard
but the child I can't outrun
still hangs on every word

In my heart I hear you sing again
Every note as natural as then
When I sing those songs
with family and friends, 
in my heart I hear you sing again
In my heart, I hear you sing again

© Rude Girl Pub. (50%)/Woody Guthrie Publications. All rights reserved; international copyright secured.

I Hear You Sing Again

From the album "Folk Is the New Black"
DANGER DANGER
(Janis Ian)
You got Ma Rainey talkin’ ‘bout a jelly roll
Chuck Berry workin’ on a mojo
Bessie Smith singin’ Bull Dagger Blues
Elvis twiching on the evening news

	Danger, danger, can’t you see
        that sex should stay a mystery
	so ban that music, yessirree
	That’s what America means to me

We gonna ban Walt Whitman, and Jean Cocteau
All the queers will have to go
Mr. Tennessee Williams, Plato too
You got to give J. Edgar Hoover his due

Danger, danger, can’t you see
They’re in your local library
so ban those authors, yessirree
That’s what America means to me, yeah

We gonna ban all the dagos, the wops and the kikes
Gonna ban all the chinks and the towelhead types
Ban all the wetbacks, ban all the fags
Wrap it up tight in the American flag

	Danger, danger, can’t you see
	it’s dangerous when they are free
	so ban those lazy refugees 
	That’s what America means to me

I watched the news last night at nine
Saw a head blown off somebody’s spine
The women moaned and the children screamed
Doesn’t anybody else think that’s obscene?

It ought to be a felony
to practice such stupidity
but it’s my right, as you can see
That’s what America means to me, yeah

Words & music by Janis Ian; c. Rude Girl Pub. All rights reserved.

Danger Danger

For my trans friends.
PERFECT LITTLE GIRL
 (Janis Ian)

PRETEND THAT YOU’RE A GIRL FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
PRETEND IT FOR THE WORLD, THOUGH YOU KNOW IT ISN’T RIGHT
IF LIFE’S A FAIRY TALE, YOU CAN PLAY YOUR ROLE AND BE
 A PERFECT LITTLE GIRL , FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE

	BUT THERE’S A SACRED PLACE INSIDE
	AND IT’S A PLACE YOU JUST CAN’T HIDE
	IF THIS WHOLE WIDE WORLD WOULD ONLY SEE
	THEY’D KNOW YOU TRIED TO BE 
        A PERFECT LITTLE GIRL

PRETEND IT’S ALL A DREAM
AND ONE DAY YOU’LL WAKE TO FIND
YOU ARE SOMEWHERE INBETWEEN 
WHERE YOU LEFT, AND YOU ARRIVED
AND YOU’LL KNOW THAT DREAMS COME TRUE,
‘CAUSE IT’S HAPPENING TO YOU
LIKE A REDBIRD FINDS THE SPRING
YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR SEASON, TOO

	CHORUS

		BLAME IT ON THE SUN
		BLAME IT ON THE MOON
		BLAME IT ON THE STARS THAT SHINE
		THE SAME ON ME AS YOU

	‘CAUSE THERE’S A SACRED PLACE INSIDE
	AND IT’S A PLACE I JUST CAN’T HIDE
	IF THE WORLD COULD SEE INSIDE OF ME
	THEY’D KNOW I TRIED TO BE
	A PERFECT LITTLE GIRL

© 2016 Rude Girl Pub. (BMI) All rights reserved; international copyright secured.

Worktapes

Perfect Little Girl

PERFECT LITTLE GIRL

HEART OF THE CITY
(Janis Ian)
written just after 9/11

There stood the observation deck where none had stood before
We stared down at the smoking ground and one man took the floor
He said "you know, I'm just five blocks from home
"I was in it from the start
"And they might have struck the flesh and bone
"but they did not strike the heart”

'cause the heart of a city is the soul of a man
and it runs like a river through the heart of the land
You can tear down a building. You can tear down a park
You can strike at a symbol, but you can't touch the heart 

There were ashes on the windowsills, and ashes on the leaves
The were ashes on the tongues of everybody who still breathed 
and flames so high they blocked the sky 'til only cinders flew
but the Phoenix rises from the ash and I'll be rising, too
The Phoenix rises from the ash and I'll be rising, too

'cause the heart of a city is the soul of a man
and it runs like a river through the heart of the land
You can tear down a building. You can tear down a park
You can strike at a symbol, but you can't touch the heart 

		I heard the lady's torch across the harbor calling me
		and a hundred thousand immigrants
		who came here to be free
		and I thought about the cowards
		who were claiming victory
		Well, if you see them on the street
		you can tell 'em this for me
The heart of a city is the soul of a man
and it runs like a river through the heart of the land
You can tear down a building. You can tear down a park
You can strike at a symbol, but you can't touch the heart

Janis live

Heart of the City

Heart Of the City - live

RESIST
(Janis Ian)

She is. She is. She is. 
She is. She is. She is
She is. She is. She is 

Too short too fat too skinny
Too tall too plain too pretty
Too hot too wet too sticky
Too… picky
Oh, what an ugly girl. 
Oh, what an ugly girl.

Put her in high heels, so she can’t run
Carve out between her legs so she can’t come
Get her a dress, for easy access
Tell everybody that she’s just like all the rest
	
	How long? 
How long, how long, how long
	How long? 
How long, how long, how long

Tell me I’m ugly so I’ll buy your crap
Tell me you want me ‘cause I don’t talk back
Tell me I carry the original sin
Tell me I’m holy when I cover up my skin

Tell me that my body bears a permanent stain
Tell me we can marry if I give up my name
Call me your baby so I never grow up 
Tell me you love me when you only want to fu-fu-fu- 

Funny how I whisper and you think it’s a roar
You ask me to the table then you seat me on the floor
You want me to be sexy. You want me to be pure.
I cannot be your virgin and I will not be your whore. 

Resist. 
Resist resist resist.
	Resist. 
Resist resist resist.

It’s a funny kind of thing, when you sing a little song
and you get a couple people to sing along
It’s the power of community. 
Authenticity changes your reality
I know it’s hard to believe when they’re yelling in your ear
and it’s the only voice you’re able to hear
But you raise up your fist and you learn to resist
and you say “I will not disappear”

I will not disappear. 
I will not disappear
I will not disappear
I will not disappear
		
Resist. 
Resist resist resist.
	Resist. 
Resist resist resist.
	Resist, resist, resist. 
Resist, resist, resist.
	Resist

Resist (JI) Quick Mix

PERFECT LITTLE GIRL
 (Janis Ian)

Pretend that you’re a girl
for the rest of your life
Pretend it for the world
though you know it isn’t right
If life’s a fairy tale
you can play your role and be
Be a perfect little girl
for all the world to see

	but there’s a sacred place inside
	and it’s a place you just can’t hide
	If the whole wide world could only see
	they’d know you tried to be a perfect little girl

Pretend it’s all a dream
and one day you’ll wake to find
you are somewhere in-between
where you left, and you arrived
And you’ll know that dreams come true,
‘cause it’s happening to you
Like a redbird finds the spring,
you have found your season, too

	but there’s a sacred place inside
	and it’s a place you just can’t hide
	If the whole wide world could only see
	they’d know you tried to be a perfect little girl

		Blame it on the sun
		Blame it on the moon
		Blame it on the stars that shine
		the same on me as you

	but there’s a sacred place inside
	and it’s a place I just can’t hide
	If the world could see inside of me
	they’d know I tried to be a perfect little girl

c. Rude Girl Pub., p. Rude Girl Records. All rights reserved.

Janis new songs

THE LOVE WE LEAVE
(Janis Ian/Jon Vezner)


The love we leave may be forever
Only time can tell
Every memory’s a treasure
waiting on the shelf
A bright bouquet for rainy days
when we’ve got time to dream
Never know just who we touch
with the love we leave

The hand you hold in time of trouble
never will forget
and when that hand no longer trembles,
it will pay the debt
‘til every hand of every man
is held a hundred-fold
Never know just who you touch
with the hand you hold

	I wish the love I leave could be forever
	in my children’s song
	and in the sparkle of their children’s laughter
	long after I’m gone

Through goodbye tears and we-lived-heres
that make up memories
We never know just who we touch
with the love we leave
With the love we leave

Words & music by Janis Ian & Jon Vezner; all rights reserved.

The Love We Leave

The Love We Leave - Janis Ian & Jon Vezner

American songwriter, singer, musician, author and multiple Grammy-winning writer of "At 17", "Jesse" and "Society's Child".

For more, please visit janisian.com, or go by clicking the homepage link.

Janis Ian

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