Madi Diaz, S.G. Goodman, and Joy Oladokun Cover Patty Griffin’s ‘Be Careful’ for Abortion Rights

    Madi Diaz, Joy Oladokun, and S.G. Goodman have teamed up for a cover of Patty Griffin’s ‘Be Careful’. Proceeds from the single will benefit Abortion Within Reach Coalition, a nonprofit organization fighting for reproductive justice and abortion accessibility. Diaz and Goodman produced the track, which features backing vocals from Courtney Marie Andrews and Savana Santos. Listen to it below.

    “I’m excited and honored to be a part of this release because we’re at a moment in American politics where we have to remember and act on the truth that advocating for my neighbors’ rights is my advocating for my own rights,” Oladok uncommented in a statement. S.G. Goodman added: “To be honest, having to emphasize why the message of ‘Be Careful’ is important at this very moment is tragic within itself. Unfortunately, it’s relevant. The need to plead for a vote ensuring women’s autonomy is relevant.”

    Diaz said:

    When Roe V. Wade was overturned this past summer, Patty Griffin’s song ‘Be Careful’ slipped into my subconscious. It became 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. 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. You’ve awakened the beast so you better ‘Be Careful.’ This Supreme Court decision affects all of us – ‘All the girls with the washing rags,’ ‘all the girls with the shopping bags,’ any person with a uterus and everybody with their own body. This is about control over another person’s human rights and freedoms – the right of making our own choices about our health and wellbeing. When it was so hard to talk about what had just happened in our country, writing about it felt a little easier, so my best friend, Morgan Elizabeth Peirce, and I wrote our own verse, using the brilliant Patty Griffin’s song as a springboard into our present. It felt good to say and sing something that means so much to us and I’m 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.

    Since releasing her latest album, History of a Feeling, Diaz has shared the Same History, New Feelings EP, which features reinterpretations of songs from the album with different guest vocalists. Check out our Artist Spotlight interview with Madi Diaz.

    Konstantinos Pappis
    Konstantinos Pappis
    Konstantinos Pappis is a writer, journalist, and music editor at Our Culture. His work has also appeared in Pitchfork, GIGsoup, and other publications. He currently lives in Athens, Greece.

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