Lyrics: Shaina Taub
Music: Shaina Taub
This girl
This entitled little...
Calm down, Carrie
But this girl, this Alice Paul
What gall to call me an old fogey
Since when am I an old fogey
She thinks I'm obsolete
She ought to kiss my feet
I led the way for her, but no
She thinks she knows better
Don't let her get to your head
Focus on your speech instead
What was I thinking enabling her
I should have heeded the doubts I had from the start
She's undeniably smart, but so misguided
I've labored for decades to craft a conservative image for suffrage
But she makes us look like a horde of hysterical harpies
With smoke blowing out of our ears
What if she ruins what I have been mounting for years
I did not count on this girl
This girl
I can't believe I am now viewed as the old guard
And she, as the beacon of change
Me, the old fogey
How strange
This girl
Not this girl, raised by a penniless drunk
Who refused to send her to school
Not this girl, who paid her own way through college
Proving she's nobody's fool
Who worked as the first woman superintendent
Harassed by her boss, but managed to thrive
Who married a man for a good reputation
Then found herself widowed at age 25
Not this girl, who flouted a feminine custom
By joining the fight for the vote
Not this girl, who followed the lead of the movement
Hiding her anger beneath her petticoat
Who rose through the ranks by paying her dues
And earned her place at the top
Who transformed and expanded the organization
And she's yet to stop
Not this girl you see before you now
Who stands by each move that she's made
This old fogey's time has come
Woman's time has come
I fought my whole goddamn life for respect for my sex
And I will no longer allow
This arrogant child to imperil our chance to be free
Not me
Not this girl