Soundgarden
A meditation on depression arriving without warning, framed as a reversal of fortune the speaker can neither explain nor escape.…
depression and inertia loss of self-trust reversal of fortune
Bert Jansch
This is a traditional Appalachian folk lament, here rendered by Bert Jansch in his hushed, weathered late-career voice, about a…
exile and rejection itinerancy social reversal of fortune
Al Green
A young man begs a train conductor to reverse course so he can return to a lover he left too hastily. Al Green, still developing…
regret and reversal longing isolation
PJ Harvey
A jealous, obsessive lover refuses to let go, oscillating between pleading vulnerability and menacing possessiveness. The song…
obsession codependency possessiveness
Betty Davis
Betty Davis takes the insults an ex has thrown at her -- witch, alley cat, dirty dog -- and turns them into a badge of honor,…
sexual autonomy reclaiming slurs female desire vs. respectability
Florence + the Machine
A song about being ambushed by joy rather than sorrow, treating happiness itself as a violent, destabilizing force that a woman…
fear of happiness emotional avoidance release and surrender
Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott's signature single is a maximalist celebration of sexual confidence and self-invention, built on a literal sonic…
sexual agency self-invention and reinvention female solidarity and hustle