Singers singing opposite gender songs

chanatron1000

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 3:58 pm

What do you think of it when, for example, a male sings about Sarah Schenirer teaching him how to be a mother and wife?

singleagain

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:03 pm

Honestly .. I think it's weird.

I remember hearing abie rottenberg's "here comes pesach blues" as a kid. And I was confused but the opening line "...what a great time for kids and men. But I just happened to be a woman"

No your not.

amother

Smokey

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:14 pm

Never thought of it as weird. There are such nice songs on Mama Rachel and men sing them.
There's no "gender" in songs.

urban gypsy

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:19 pm

amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:

My DD was singing about becoming like Rabbi Akiva. Who cares?

Not the same thing. A girl can wish to emulate Rabbi Akiva. Not the same as a man singing "I am a woman" as singleagain referenced above LOL

I think it's okay if the lyrics are altered slightly in a way that makes sense.

One of the greatest covers of "Jolene" I've ever heard was sung by Benton Blout on AGT who changed it so it's from the perspective of the husband.

sky

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:33 pm

I wonder this when listening to shwekey song a mothers promise.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NLVIp_pOxMY
It’s sang from a mothers perspective. It could have been from a father’s perspective just the same. I think it would have been even more powerful that way.

chanatron1000

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:34 pm

urban gypsy wrote:

Not the same thing. A girl can wish to emulate Rabbi Akiva. Not the same as a man singing "I am a woman" as singleagain referenced above LOL

How did he change the lyrics of Jolene? I Googled it and couldn't find it.

urban gypsy

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:35 pm

chanatron1000 wrote:

How did he change the lyrics of Jolene? I Googled it and couldn't find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TJGrLnvKio

sushilover

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:36 pm

sky wrote:

I have no problem with shwekey singing this song, but I wish a female singer would come out with a cover of it.

It is absolutely stunning.

LovesHashem

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:48 pm

chanatron1000 wrote:

What do you think of it when, for example, a male sings about Sarah Schenirer teaching him how to be a mother and wife?

OMG I KNOW THIS SONG! I immediately thought of this one when I saw the title lol.
It's from "There's a Place in My mind"

Uch I HATE it. It sounds so weird to hear a grown man saying in first person things like:

"Sarah Schenirer changed my life
Taught my how to be a good mother and wife"

(Those aren't the exact lyrics, but along the lines)

So actually that CD is pretty old and it wasn't "acceptable" for women to sing on a recorded disc. I don't think anyone would think it would be a good idea to release that song sung by a man IN FIRST PERSON in 2019

LovesHashem

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 4:52 pm

If a song isn't in first person, if it's just about women I don't see any issue.
The second you have deep men's voices singing about what great wives they are in first person...Idk about you but that weirds me out.

"I am a great wife/bas yisroel" sung by a man sounds extremely off to me.

chanatron1000

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 5:00 pm

urban gypsy wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TJGrLnvKio

Thanks for the link.

amother

Taupe

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 8:20 pm

singleagain wrote:

its supposed to be funny!!! the whole song is comedy. I loved it, always made me laugh.

singleagain

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 8:24 pm

amother [ Taupe ] wrote:

its supposed to be funny!!! the whole song is comedy. I loved it, always made me laugh.

I love the song. It's hysterical.

I think it's weird that a man says "I happen to be a woman"

I thought that was weird in the 90s as a less than ten year old.

The singer was obviously a man. Why is he saying "I happen to be a woman"

amother

Ivory

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 8:42 pm

It always gave me a mental picture of a guy with a beard, a tichel, and a housecoat crooning with his guitar as he dances around the kitchen.

Never could really enjoy it!

sushilover

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 9:40 pm

amother [ Ivory ] wrote:

It always gave me a mental picture of a guy with a beard, a tichel, and a housecoat crooning with his guitar as he dances around the kitchen.

Never could really enjoy it!

That's the reason I love that song!

amother

Cyan

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 10:47 pm

sushilover wrote:

That's the reason I love that song!

Same here!

I hear the perspective of those who say that it's weird, but it never bothered me. The only thing I wish is that songs that were composed by women would be sung by women--like Miriam Israeli and Dina Storch's songs.

Last edited by amother on Fri, Jul 05 2019, 10:45 am; edited 1 time in total

penguin

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 11:12 pm

amother [ Ivory ] wrote:

It always gave me a mental picture of a guy with a beard, a tichel, and a housecoat crooning with his guitar as he dances around the kitchen.

Never could really enjoy it!

You mean like this:

yerushamama

Thu, Jun 27 2019, 11:45 pm

Some of them are a bit odd, but I'm used to it, and just enjoy the music.

Even though discs by women for women are becoming more and more accepted, they will never sell as well as a disc of a man singing. Therefore, if someone wants to get a song "out there", it will be put out on a regular disc.