Margo Price wants fans to know that there’s a seat for everyone at her table. Today (March 22), the country singer-songwriter released a timely cover of ”You Don’t Own Me” exclusively via Bandcamp.
The song has a special meaning for Price, who stands as one of the genre’s few outspoken activists for equality and inclusion.
“I began covering Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” during Willie Nelson‘s Outlaw Tour in 2021 in response to those who are trying to take away a woman’s right to control what happens to her body,” Price shared in a statement. “But this idea of self-possession is even more universal. We should all be free to be ourselves, without discrimination, no matter our sex, our race, our religion. We all deserve to live in peace, no matter who we love and marry, no matter which gender we identify with.”
Gore originally released “You Don’t Own Me” in 1963 at the age of 17. At the time, the song became one of the few radio hits that wasn’t lyrically built around putting men on a pedestal. The track is often cited as one of the earliest anthems of the 1960s women’s rights movement, but its message is one that also reaches beyond early feminist ideals.
“I keep finding renewed meaning in the lyrics,” Price says. “During these times when some people confuse opinions with misinformation and censorship with free speech, not only is ‘You Don’t Own Me’ a song about women’s liberation, but it is an anthem for anyone who is being marginalized or abused by systems of power.”
Price will be donating proceeds raised from the sale of “You Don’t Own Me” to Noise for Now, a national initiative that enables artists and entertainers to connect with and financially support grassroots organizations that work in support of reproductive rights, including abortion access.
You can download the track via Bandcamp for a limited time.
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