Transgender themed songs?

NightAngel · December 03, 2012, 09:20:30 PM

Hi everyone,

Transgender themed songs?

I'd like to hear more songs with transgender themes, or that even just mention it in passing.

It's not easy finding any songs related to this theme, at least from the classic song catalogs.

Help me find some, please.

Michelle

Shang · December 03, 2012, 09:27:20 PM

"Androgynous" by Joan Jett is a really good one.

Jamie D · December 03, 2012, 10:24:01 PM

"Lola" by the Kinks

Beth Andrea · December 03, 2012, 10:41:32 PM

Quote from: Jamie D on December 03, 2012, 10:24:01 PM
"Lola" by the Kinks

There's not many songs I think, but Lola stands out. Never even knew what it was about until a few years ago, when I was more "political."

QuoteI met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola [LP version:
Coca-cola]
C-o-l-a cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
L-o-l-a Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well I'm not the worlds most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kinks/lola_20079021.html ]
Well we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said dear boy wont you come home with me
Well I'm not the worlds most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me

Well that's the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well I left home just a week before
And I'd never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said dear boy I'm gonna make you a man

Well I'm not the worlds most masculine man
But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man
And so is Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

There's also "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed...interesting backstory, if you Wikipedia it...

QuoteHolly came from Miami, F-L-A
Hitchhiked her way across the U-S-A
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs
Then he was a she
She says hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
She say hey babe, take a walk on the wild side

Candy came from out on the island
In the back room she was everybody's darlin'
But she never lost her head
Even when she was givin' head
She says hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
She says hey honey, take a walk on the wild side
And the colored girls sing
Doot, doo doot, doo doot, doo doot doo doot
Doot, doo doot, doo doot, doo doot doo doot

Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
A hustle here and a hustle there
New york city's the place where
They said hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
They said hey joe, take a walk on the wild side

Sugar plum fairies came and hit the streets
Lookin' for soul food and a place to eat
Went to the apollo
You should have seen him go go go
They said hey sugar, take a walk on the wild side
They said hey babe, take a walk on the wild side

Jackie is just speedin' away
Thought she was james dean for a day
Then i guess she had to crash
Valium would've helped that bash
She said hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
She said hey honey, take a walk on the wild side
And the colored girls sing
Doot, doo doot, doo doot, doo doot doo doot
Doot, doo doot, doo doot, doo doot doo doot

Kevin Peña · December 03, 2012, 10:45:10 PM

Pay attention to the lyrics.

AbbyJamz · December 04, 2012, 07:18:23 AM

Against Me! has a song from their upcoming album called Transgender Dysphoria Blues. There's not a studio version available yet, but you can find plenty of live videos on YouTube. I'm pretty sure their entire next album is going to be trans themed.

suzifrommd · December 04, 2012, 07:36:47 AM

I've always wondered about "Somebody told me" by the Killers:

QuoteWell somebody told me
You had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
...

Sadie · December 04, 2012, 09:02:29 AM

So I know the song isn't about being transgender but for my theme song it was Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" I always saw it as my real female self singing to the masculine shell I had been wearing.

Some songs from one of my favorite bands, Garbage, that mention something Trans like are "Bleed Like Me" and "Androgyny"

"Bleed Like Me" (one of my favorite songs)

Quote
Chris is all dressed up and acting coy
Painted like a brand new Christmas toy
He's trying to figure out if he's a girl or he's a boy
He says:
Hey baby can you bleed like me?
C'mon baby can you bleed like me?

Carlita · December 04, 2012, 09:11:23 AM

My vote goes to Candy Says, by the Velvet Underground ... the story of Candy Darling, transsexual Warhol Superstar. The song was written by Lou Reed who also mentions her in Walk On The Wild Side - 'Candy came from out on the Island / In the barroom she was everybody's darling.'

Here's a link:

Candy says is a much sadder, more moving - and more beautiful - song than 'Wild Side' (which I love, too, but it's really just trashy fun) and the lyrics are as good a description of dysphoria as have ever been out into song - all the more so since they were written by a guy who wasn't TS himself. I can recognise so much of this song in my own experience and I'm sure lots of other girls here will too:

Candy says, I've come to hate my body
and all that it requires in this world
Candy says, I'd like to know completely
what all the souls discretely talk about

I'm gonna watch the blue birds fly
over my shoulder
I'm gonna watch them pass me by
maybe when im older, what do you think I'd see
if I could walk away from me

Candy says, I hate the quiet places
that cause the smallest taste of what will be
Candy says, I hate the big decisions that cause endless revisions
in my mind

I'm gonna watch the blue birds fly
over my shoulder
I'm gonna watch them pass me by
Maybe when I'm older what do you think I'd see
if i could walk away from me

Sadie · December 04, 2012, 09:17:59 AM

I was just watching a documentary the other day on YouTube about Candy and the other members of Warhol's little gang. Very Interesting. Candy was beautiful, sad that she died so young.

Eleanor · December 04, 2012, 10:03:38 AM

Perhaps not a very famous one, but Josephine by Terrorvision, a fairly minor English band from the 90s, comes to mind. I always thought it was super-catchy growing up without really understanding or thinking about the lyrics. I listened to it again for the first time in ages recently only to realise that... um... it's about a guy meeting someone he used to know under the name of Joe, finding that she is now Josephine, a trans woman, and falling for her.

I had a friend called Joe,
When friends were hard to find.
He had a restless soul,
And something on his mind.

One day I went away,
And then returned to the scene,
Not to find restless Joe, no,
But to find Josephine.

I asked her what her name was
She said Joe had left the city
I asked her what her name was
She said... They call me Josephine.
Josephine. Josephine.

It took a while to click,
But then I got the gist.
The girl by my side (by my side),
Was the guy I've missed (was the guy I've missed).

I took her for a beer,
To talk about old times,
Just to find the beer, dear,
Was now a sweet white wine.

I asked her what her name was
She said Joe had left the city
I asked her what her name was
She said they call me Josephine.
Josephine. Josephine. Josephine.

So we talked all night,
And I just can't pretend,
Although I lost old Joe, yo,
I got a new girlfriend (I got a new girlfriend).

I asked her what her name was
She said Joe had left the city
I asked her what her name was
She said they call me Josephine.

Also, while it's hard to argue that it's not more about defying gender expectations and being yourself than it is actively identifying as the opposite gender given the subject matter of the story, I always thought Reflection from Disney's Mulan was kind of an unofficial trans anthem in its lyrics.

Look at me.
I will never pass for a perfect bride,
or a perfect daughter.
Can it be I'm not meant to play this part?

Now I see
that if I were truly to be myself.
I would break my family's heart.

Who is that girl I see staring straight back at me?
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?
Somehow I cannot hide who I am though I've tried.
When will my reflection show who I am inside?

Michelle G · December 04, 2012, 10:30:17 AM

"Cherry Lips" by Garbage is a total TG song

http://www.lyrics.com/cherry-lips-go-baby-go-lyrics-garbage.html

She gave you everything she had
But she was young and dumb
She'd just turned twenty-one
She didn't care to hang around
So when the >-bleeped-< came down
Why she was nowhere to be found
This life can turn a good girl bad
She was the sweetest thing
That you had ever seen

You're such a delicate boy
In the hysterical realm
Of an emotional landslide
In physical terms

With your cherry lips and golden curls
You could make grown men gasp
When you'd go walking past them
In your hot pants and high heels
They could not believe
That such a body was for real
It seemed like rainbows would appear
Whenever you came near the clouds would disappear
Because you looked just like a girl
Your baby blues would flash
And suddenly a spell was cast

You hold a candle in your heart
You shine the light on hidden parts
You make the whole world want to dance
You bought yourself a second chance

Go Baby Go Go
We're right behind you
Go baby Go Go
Yeah we're looking at you
Go baby Go GO
Aw we're right behind you
Go Baby
Go Baby
Yeah we're looking at you
Go
---
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
written by ERICKSON, DOUGLAS ELWIN / MANSON, SHIRLEY ANN / MARKER, STEVE W. / VIG, BRYAN DAVID
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/cherry-lips-go-baby-go-lyrics-garbage.html#5I6QLfgLJxP9YtCr.99

Keira · December 04, 2012, 11:33:11 AM

Fake It By Seether

This song is about pretending to be someone you aren't. Essentially it's like a pre-transition song.

Who's to know if your soul will fade at all
The one you sold to fool the world
You lost your self-esteem along the way
Yeah

[Chorus:]
Good god you're coming up with reasons
Good god you're dragging it out
Good god it's the changing of the seasons
I feel so raped
So follow me down
And just fake it if you're out of direction
Fake it if you don't belong here
Fake it if you feel like infection
Woah you're such a f***** hypocrite

And you should know that the lies won't hide your flaws
No sense in hiding all of yours
You gave up on your dreams along the way
Yeah

[Chorus]

Whoah
Whoah

I can fake with the best of anyone
I can fake with the best of em all
I can fake with the best of anyone
I can fake it all

Who's to know if your soul will fade at all
The one you sold to fool the world
You lost your self-esteem along the way
Yeah

[Chorus]

Fake it if you're out of direction
Fake it if you don't belong here
Fake it if you feel like infection
Woah you're such a f****** hypocrite

Sarah Anne · December 04, 2012, 01:18:51 PM

Lady Gaga at least briefly mentions it in "Born This Way".

Sarah

Carlita · December 04, 2012, 01:32:15 PM

And then there's the song that was my own (very secret) personal anthem through my teens ... Bowie's 'Lady Stardust' ... not exactly transitioning, but gender-bending for sure ...