In this segment from the Girls Will Be Girls concert, Speaker A introduces a pivotal song from the show Oceanborn, explaining its significance as the title track and as a narrative moment where a lead character sings after experiencing sexual assault. The introduction emphasizes the prevalence of assault (one in three women), the stigma surrounding it, and the need for open conversation beyond media headlines. Speaker A frames the song as a declaration of survivor resilience, asserting that the trauma does not diminish a woman's value and can become a source of strength for herself and other women. Speaker B then performs the song, delivering lyrics that lament how women are erased from history, reduced to toys, silenced when they bleed, and forced to endure violence, while also asserting a defiant claim to power (“I will be king”). The performance juxtaposes the harsh realities of gendered violence with a resolve to reclaim agency. The segment ends with Speaker A acknowledging the shared understanding of these themes.
Chapters
So I am so excited to bring this next song up to the stage. This is a song from my show Oceanborn, woo! And it is such an important song to me. It is the one that gave us the title of this lovely show, Girls Will Be Girls. And this song is a song that one of our leads sings after she has been assaulted. And this is something that I feel is so important to talk about because there is such intense stigma attached to this, and yet 1 in 3 women experience it in their lives. Think about how many women there are in this room. Think about a third of that. Chances are. And it is something that not only needs to be spoken about, but it doesn't just need to be headlines in the New York Times. It also needs to be something that we acknowledge as something that has shaped the way that women move about the world. And will continue to shape the way that women move about the world, except unless we start talking about it and unless we acknowledge this problem. And for our character, it is a large defining moment for her, but it is also a moment in which she realizes that she will not be governed by the way that other people treat her or her body, and that the fact that this has happened to her does not make her lesser It doesn't make her of less value, and it can be something that she grows from and continues to call upon for strength. Because she has survived this, other women will survive this, and she is going to be stronger for it. And this is "Girls Will Be Girls." I know, I know.
People like me get written out of history. And though it takes all the fight out of me, I will be king. I will be. Strike a match and watch it burn. Wait for the herd to come and learn. Fight them, push them back. Don't turn your back. You don't want to lose to nobody. Cause boys will be boys, girls will be girls, girls will be toys for you. So when you bleed, don't make a sound, no one wants to hear you making noise. I am bold and brave, I'll take my place, an open page in history. Though it takes all the fight out of me, I will be King I will be. Battlefields and graves, my mother's face, a shadow on an open sea. Boys will be boys, girls will be girls, girls will be toys for you. So when you bleed, don't make a sound, just shut your mouth, no one wants to hear you scream. I know people like me get written out of history. I know.
I know.
I know. I know. Boys will be boys. Girls will be girls. We won't be toys for you. So when you bleed, don't make a sound. Just shut your mouth. No one wants to hear you scream. Boys will be boys, girls will beat boys. I won't lie still for you. I won't be weak. I'll shut it down. I'll scream out loud. The world will belong to me. The world will belong to me. To me.
