Top 10 Unintentional Disability Anthems

This is kind of a response to (or at least inspired by) a post on the BBC Ouch blog by Nicola aka Turtle (whose return to blogging is keenly anticipated...) By "unintentional" i mean songs that to me are disability anthems, in one context or another, but weren't consciously intended as being about disability or as part of the "disability arts movement" (hence no "Spasticus Autisticus", no Johnny Crescendo, etc).

Yes, i have a bit of a thing for lists...

1. Pulp - Mis-Shapes

I'm not actually sure if this was an intentional disability anthem - I'm guessing that it was meant to be an anthem for all the "misfit" indie-kids who liked nerdy, sarcastic bands like Pulp and were persecuted by fans of the likes of Take That and the Spice Girls in the mid-90s (among which, i am absolutely sure, there were at least a few crips and neurodiverse types). Still, the lyrics fit the lived experience of a crip growing up in Middle England far too well for coincidence. "We don't look the same as you, and we don't do the things you do, but we live round here too... We'd like to go to town but we can't risk it cos they just want to keep us out, you could end up with a smack in the mouth, just for standing out"... and then it goes into a rousing, even if tongue-in-cheek, call to arms that always puts me in mind of the best kind of direct action... "We want your hopes, we want your lives, we want the things you won't allow us". Social model in a nutshell.

2. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up

OK, Curtis only became disabled after he recorded most if not all of his classic material (of which this is probably the best-known song), but like so many of his others it is a powerful anthem of self-determination and call for acceptance of difference, with a utopian vision ("Enter this people of beautiful people where there's only one kind") that rings true for anyone in a discriminated minority group. Originally written for the African-American civil rights movement, it was taken up as an anthem by the gay community, and could equally be such for the disabled community. "Hush now child, and don't you cry. Your folks might understand you by and by" - even if that hope is never fulfilled for many of us, it strikes a chord that's undeniable. And it's one of the few genuinely great and non-cheesy "uplifting" songs...

3. Israel Vibration - Weep And Mourn

Really, there are loads of Israel Vibration songs that could be here - as the (probably) world's only all-disabled roots reggae group, and one of the most crucial in that genre by any standard, a list like this couldn't not include them. "Weep and Mourn" is one of their most powerful "sufferers" anthems, and while for me there is (or feels like there is) an added disability dimension implicit in many of their lyrics, this is one of the ones that makes it clearest. "Persecution, tribulation, in Mona Rehabilitation Centre". A perfect example of the apocalyptic tone of the heaviest roots - it leaves no doubt that disability institutions will not be spared the fire that they chant down on all the oppressors and evil-doers of Babylon.

4. Eric Donaldson - Stand Up

Another deep and heavy roots reggae tune, this one produced by the legendary self-declared madman Lee "Scratch" Perry (surely a biodiversity icon if there ever was one). As with plenty of other tunes of its kind, many of the lyrics are as relevant to the disability pride movement as to the postcolonial identity politics that it came from - "You can't judge a book by the cover, just turn the pages and read, don't try to make me over... Don't you shed no tears for me, don't you cry no more, don't you worry about me, now everything is alright" - but then it has the utterly hilarious (well, if you have my twisted sense of humour) chorus "Why can't you all stand up?!?" The absolute definition of unintentional... ;)

5. The Au Pairs - Stepping Out Of Line

Again, there are loads of Au Pairs songs that could be in this list, but this, I think, is one of the most appropriate - a sardonic, savagely witty take on socially imposed conformity and systematic repression of those who do not fit into neatly labelled categories, sung from the persona of the totalising state: "You, gonna find you a label... just as soon as we're able, we're gonna put you in a paper bag... Shut up, shut up, you're talking too loud, get back in your corner, that's an order! We've got you summed up, we've got you defined, and you're stepping out of line..." Lesley Woods at her darkly witty, brutally brilliant yet always passionate and idealistic best, epitomising the brief yet glorious moment when punk met radical intellectualism. One for all the stereotype-defiers out there...

6. Tracy Chapman - Why?

The stark simplicity of Tracy Chapman's first album, and her gift for seemingly effortlessly fusing the personal and the political into searingly powerful lyrics, make it one of the most moving musical experiences out there for me (just about every track on it can make me cry). (Sure, some hate her because she's so "overly" earnest, but... I'm an Aspie. I like that...) All her songs feel like they come direct and unmediated from the most marginalised and vulnerable in Western society, so it's no surprise her influence looms large over the music of the disability movement. "Why?" contains the immortal line "The time is coming soon when the blind remove their blinders and the speechless speak the truth" - undoubtedly meant metaphorically rather than literally (and yeah, the disability metaphor is probably arguably dodgy), but taking things literally has always been one of my favourite pastimes... ;) One hell of an emotional punch...

7. James Brown - I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)

Almost every lyric in this (unjustly) lesser-known James Brown tune (not least the title) could have been written for the social model disability movement instead of (or as well as) the African-American civil rights movement - "Don't give me sorrow, I want equal opportunity to live tomorrow... Give me schools and give me better books, so I can read about myself and (OK I can't make out these few words) looks... We don't want no sympathy, we just want to be a man..." The central anti-charity demand of the title is repeated with the almost religious fervour of JB's unmistakeable screaming and hollering. And then it just carries on for almost 10 glorious minutes of impassioned, tighter-than-tight funk...

8. Nina Simone - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

This one's (perhaps) a bit impairment-specific - but I think any neurodiverse person should be able to relate to these lyrics, and Nina's delivery is exquisite and spellbinding, lending a grace and power that utterly transcends pathos to make the song simply a stark, indestructible expression of truth. "If I seem edgy, I want you to know I never mean to take it out on you... Life has its problems, and I get more than my share, but that's one thing I never mean to do - cause I love you...Oh, baby, I'm just human, don't you know I have faults like anyone - sometimes I find myself alone regretting some little foolish thing, some simple thing that I've done... but I'm just a soul whose intentions are good - oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood". The Animals' version may be more famous, but Nina's is, for me, one of the most moving performances ever recorded.

9. Anthony & The Johnsons - Cripple And The Starfish

OK, apart from the title this song isn't actually really about disability - I think it's a kind of transsexual BDSM love song... but, well, it's so exquisitely beautiful that i couldn't possibly not include it. Like the last tune, this ranks up among the most moving and powerful songs ever recorded for me, and it can send me into that truly overwhelming state of cosmic transcendence that i don't even know how to put into words... only a very, very few other musical works (Heart of the Congos is one that springs to mind) can do that. Also, Anthony's voice is so stunningly transcendent of gender and tone classification that i'm certain he(?) is a very biodiverse individual. I could go on about the regenerative metaphor of the many-headed Hydra here, but i'll just say: We will grow back like a starfish...

10. Peter Tosh - I Am That I Am

Peter Tosh's folk-reggae ballad (no relation to the camp disco anthem of the same name), sung in his customary authoritative voice, is an affirmation of the validity of human individuality and difference, and one of the simplest and strongest declarations of identity and autonomy ever put to music, which succinctly expresses the universally libertarian ethic that underpins Tosh's more specific black liberation politics. ""I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, neither are you here to live up to mine... Don't underestimate my ability, don't defamate my character. Don't belittle my authority, it's time you recognised my quality. I said I am that I am, I am, I am, I am". A fitting closer to this list...