“When Roe v. Wade was overturned this past summer, Patty Griffinʼs song ʻBe Carefulʼ slipped into my subconscious,” singer-songwriter Madi Diaz explained of her latest release in a statement.
Videos by American Songwriter
Diaz shares an updated cover of Patty Griffinʼs 2002 classic, “Be Careful.” She enlists fellow singer-songwriters Joy Oladokun and S.G. Goodman and the trio give the song 2022 relevance as the nation goes into the midterm elections.
Diaz describes the vulnerable track as “a mantra of strength that was playing consistently in the back of my heart and mind day in and day out, gently encouraging me to keep putting one foot in front of the other.” She further cites the song’s importance and potency, especially after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June.
“It became a sort of battle cry directed toward anyone that wants to take away my rights to my own body and my reproductive freedom,” she continued. “Youʼve awakened the beast so you better ʻBe Careful.ʼ This Supreme Court decision affects all of us – ʻAll the girls with the washing rags,ʼ ʻall the girls with the shopping bags,ʼ any person with a uterus and everybody with their own body.”
To give their rendition a timeliness and an urgency, a new verse has been added to the song. For all the parents who are losing sleep / For all the babies that will come to be / For all the reasons that are ours to know / Itʼs my choice and I am not alone / For every man whoʼs standing next to me / For queer and trans and non-binary / For everybody with their own body / I will meet you all out in the street / So be careful how you bend me / Be careful where you send me / Careful how you end me / Be careful with me.
“My best friend, Morgan Elizabeth Peirce, and I wrote our own verse, using the brilliant Patty Griffinʼs song as a springboard into our present,” Diaz explained. “It felt good to say and sing something that means so much to us and Iʼm beyond thankful for this group of wonderful humans for coming together to put all of our voices and hearts on record, printing this moment in time, putting it out into the world and harnessing the power that is born when we unite and work together. I hope that anyone needing to hear this song, hears it and feels a little bit less alone. Vote with that in mind.”
Joy Oladokun added, “Iʼm excited and honored to be a part of this release because weʼre at a moment in American politics where we have to remember and act on the truth that advocating for my neighborsʼ rights is my advocating for my own rights.”
“To be honest, having to emphasize why the message of ‘Be Careful’ is important at this very moment is tragic within itself,” S.G. Goodman remarked. “Unfortunately, itʼs relevant. The need to plead for a vote ensuring womenʼs autonomy is relevant.”
The proceeds from the trio’s “Be Careful” cover will benefit Abortion Within Reach Coalition.
Listen to the song, below.
Photo: Courtesy of Pitch Perfect PR
