My Right To Choose

by Jaspar Lepak

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All money from sales and streams of "My Right to Choose" will be donated to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global human rights organization of lawyers and advocates who ensure reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person. You can donate directly here: https://reproductiverights.org/

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of P Is for Placenta, My Own Moves, I Am Human (Live), My Right To Choose, One Brave Life, Desert Ghosts, Close to Me, Wide World, and 2 more. , and , .

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about

"My Right to Choose" is a new song, recorded by Jaspar Lepak and written by Cary Cooper and Tom Prasada-Rao. Written in the days following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the new Texas law that essentially bans abortion, this straightforward and powerful response comes at a time when a woman’s constitutional right to a safe and legal abortion is being threatened and challenged across the country. Written from a woman’s perspective, this song speaks to the core of the issue: “it’s my heart, my soul, my body, and it’s my right to choose.”

Shortly after writing the song, Tom Prasada-Rao performed it during a livestream with the Greenwich Village Folk Festival in which singer-songwriter, Jaspar Lepak, also took part. "When I heard Tom perform this song, it blew me away," she says. "The right to choose is not just about a woman's body: it's about her intrinsic value as a person and her equal standing in society. What is so often missing from this debate is a woman's voice speaking plainly about her life. This song does that. She is a child of God too." When Jaspar told Tom how much the song had moved her, Tom and Cary both encouraged her to record it. Working with Alicia Healey at The Winterblue Room in Seattle, Jaspar and Alicia created a dark, country arrangement that speaks directly to Texas and to the issue as a whole.

lyrics

My Right to Choose
Written by Tom Prasada-Rao and Cary Cooper (2021)

It’s my right to vote
It’s my right to choose
It’s my right to hope
Even though I might lose
It’s my right to dream
Cause I know the truth
It’s my heart my soul my body
And it’s my right to choose

Those people outside
They say it’s a sin
They try to deny
My struggle within
They tell me to bow
But still I refuse
It’s my heart my soul my body
And it’s my right to choose

They say it’s my fault
They say I should pay
That I should repent
For going astray
A slow train to hell
Is where I am bound
But I am not lost
No - I am found

I stand on this rock
And I shall not move
A child of God
With nothing to prove
It’s my right to say
What I will do
It’s my heart my soul my body
And it’s my right to choose

It’s my heart my soul my body
And it’s my right to choose

credits

released December 1, 2021
Written by Tom Prasada-Rao (Simple Gift Music / BMI) & Cary Cooper (Ethereal Girl Music / ASCAP). Used with permission.

Produced by Alicia Healey and Jaspar Lepak
Recorded, Engineered and Mixed by Alicia Healey at The Winterblue Room in Seattle, WA
Mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle, WA
Photo by Ailisa Newhall at Pinehurst Photography
Digital Art and Design by Mike Votava

Musicians:
Jaspar Lepak: vocals, acoustic guitar
Alicia Healey: electric guitars, upright bass

© 2021 - Jaspar Lepak Music / ASCAP / All rights reserved

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about

Jaspar Lepak Seattle, Washington

A child of the Sonoran Desert, Jaspar Lepak is a folk/Americana songwriter whose remarkable gift for melody is only surpassed by her poetry. Deeply influenced by the many places she has called home (Tucson, Minneapolis, Durban, and currently Seattle), she sweeps across landscapes with an emotional depth that is extraordinary, while her clear, pure voice touches the heart. ... more

jasparlepak.com

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