Put Your Records On

Claudia Fareri

Women and Media

Doris Cacoilo

6 May 2017

Corinne Bailey Rae is a British R&B singer, who debuted her first self-titled album in 2006. In 2010, her chart topping single “Put Your Records On” from her album The Sea rose her and her music to popularity. This song was one of the many songs that had an omnipresence throughout my middle school years and up until this day, I still know the lyrics to. The reason being that this song has such a feel good vibe to it as well as an important message for women all around.

Corinne Bailey Rae photographed by Alexandra Valenti, 2016

In Audre Lorde’s essay “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, Lorde explains that poetry is "a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made in language then into idea, then into more tangible action" (372). Poetry - not limited to just poems but any form of expression through writing, music, film, etc - is a way for women to transform their hopes and dreams into content that can be shared to other women to relate to. This process gives women a platform to express who they are and in turn, give women a safe space to connect to others with. "Put Your Records On" is an example of how Rae transforms her feelings into poetry. In Rae’s first verse, she sings “Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright/The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same/Oh, don't you hesitate”. Rae expresses her own doubts that come up in her life. But she reassures herself and others that the more change that happens, the more one can find herself and stability in her life; in order to get there, we should never never hesitate but instead, be confident in everything we do.

In Rae’s chorus, she repeats

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song

You go ahead, let your hair down

Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams

Just go ahead, let your hair down

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

According to the verified commentary she provided on Genius.com for her song, Rae explains her thoughts behind those lyrics. She says how "as a young person, music was a really amazing way to find confidence and to find self expression.You could always find that song that’s like, “That’s just me. That person knows exactly how I feel." She uses her own experiences to create a song that gives listeners words of encouragement to be strong and find themselves and their strength. Her lyrics are laid back and care free, which alludes to a relaxed attitude that everything will be alright.

In her second verse, Rae sings 
            Blue as the sky, sunburn and lonely
            Sipping tea in a bar by the roadside
            (just relax, just relax)
            Don't you let those other boys fool you
            Got to love that afro hair do

As a women of color herself, Rae tells other women of color to not change themselves for the satisfaction of men and to love their natural hair. In her interview with Billboard, she admits how "not dressing for the male gaze is something I got into really early". According to John Berger in his novel Ways of Seeing, a woman “has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as success of her life” (46). In this case, the lyrics show how women are thought to hate their natural hair in order to please the male gaze. However, Rae understands the male gaze that women have and is a prime example of someone who goes against it. Her lyrics advise for women to not fall for the male gaze and be their own individual who knows their self worth. 

Woman fights the male gaze.

"Put Your Records On" shows the story of Corinne Bailey Rae and her experience of being a woman. It highlights her struggles with getting lost in the mix but ultimately, finding her confidence within herself. Not only does it show the story of her as a woman but more specifically, the story of her as a women of color. While Rae has faced opposition due to her mixed race, she proves that one can own who they are and embrace their differences because that is what make them, them. Her song is a piece of feminist work because it demonstrates that women should be unapologetically themselves, not matter who they are.

Works Cited

Lorde, Audre. Poetry is Not a Luxury. 371-373. 

"Corinne Bailey Rae on Natural Hair, Feminist Fashion & Black Representation: Exclusive." Billboard. N.p., 6 May 2016. Web. 04 May 2017.

Berger, John. Chapters 2, 3. Ways of Seeing:. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.