LGBTQ Anthems

[Former Member]

There have been all sorts of songs adopted by the LGBTQ community as anthems. Some are written or performed by heterosexuals but have lyrics that we identify with, and others are written or performed by family. Some are claimed by the whole community, but others just by segments of the community.

 

We Are Family, Beautiful, Glad to Be Gay, YMCA, I’m Coming Out, Smalltown Boy, Yes I Am, the list goes on and on.

 

Do you have any suggestions?

[Former Member]

3 hours ago, TetRefine said:

If we are talking real life, then Lady Gaga. When her song Born This Way came out in 2011, I was a 19 year old, mostly closeted college freshman. That song was one of my inspirations for beginning to come out.

Discuss…  ;–)

[Jason Rimbaud]

Five years ago I first heard a song called Young Love by Eli Lieb and was blown away by his infectious music and gay themed songs. Still makes me wanna dance every time I hear it.

 

Jason

[Former Member]

Oh, I forgot Elton John’s The One!  ;–)

[Former Member]

Is All the Girls Love Alice a Lesbian anthem or is it offensive to women?

[Thorn Wilde]

To me, Loud Like Love by Placebo is a wonderful song that always makes me happy to listen to. Very gay band, too.

 

Love on an atom
Love on a cloud
To see the birth of all that isn't now
Can you imagine a love that is so proud?
It never has to question why or how

For all of our youth
We have craved them
Their beauty and their truth
So we name them
And somehow they pull us through
We have craved them
For all of our youth

We are loud like love

 

 

So, that's my anthem, anyway.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Thorn Wilde

[Ronyx]

One song I've always considered to be the 'gay anthem' is 'We Are the Champions' by Queen.  We are the Champions

[MrM]

Long before that idiotic ‘Trolls’ movie came along, this song, originally written to be an anti-racist anthem, became THE Pride song of the 80s. It has stood with me as a support for all the years I had to stay in my closet. It affirmed that I was ok and that, no matter what I was, my ‘True Colors’ were all that mattered and that it was, ultimately, alright that I was myself. It was my generation’s ‘Born This Way’:
 

 

[AC Benus]

Das lila Lied

 

https://www.gayauthors.org/story/ac-benus/pride-month-and-other-haibun/6

[AC Benus]

Verse 1:

 

What'd you expect? War of cultures,

everyone disgraced by it,

shown disrespect, torn by vultures,

locked by their own kind to it,

category, or coterie,

slammed by the law just for it,

told how to feel, told it's not real,

told to just grin and bear it?

 

But never mind, for we're proud,

and enjoy being loud!

 

Chorus:

 

We're in the Life, marching to our own drum,

while they plod by, lockstep to appease,

ignoring the world's wonders for scum,

stuck in a sty of banalities.

We're so lucky, our feelings walk with rights

and never have to act that dumb,

for we love the thrill of purple nights –

In the Life, marching to our drum.

 

Verse 2:

 

Then let us be, keep your moral flame,

on yourself just use it;

we, you hear me, were born the same,

so go agonize about it.

But anyhow, string us up now

and you'll come to regret it;

we're brave and will dance on your grave,

'cause soon, you hear, it'll be worth it.

 

When we've taken our rights like all the others,

we'll end our pain like true sisters and brothers!

 

Chorus:

 

We're in the Life, marching to our own drum,

while they plod by, lockstep to appease,

ignoring the world's wonders for scum,

stuck in a sty of banalities.

We're so lucky, our feelings walk with rights

and never have to act that dumb,

for we love the thrill of purple nights –

In the Life, marching to our drum.

 

 

_

Edited October 11, 2018 by AC Benus

[MrM]

And this one, my young friends, will distill for you what it was like to live through the AIDS Crisis. I defy you not to cry at this one. We have a long way to go, but we’ve also COME a long way!

 

 

 

[Carlos Hazday]

Back in the Dark Ages (1977) the group battling Anita Bryant (may she suffer in hell for eternity) used this song as a rallying cry. When her group won, I swore I would crawl out of the closet and become an activist if a similar situation ever arose. It did, and I kept my promise. Two decades later, on December 1, 1998, the Dade County Commission approved a measure adding sexual orientation to the county's human rights ordinance.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2018 by Carlos Hazday

[Ronyx]

2 hours ago, MrM said:

And this one, my young friends, will distill for you what it was like to live through the AIDS Crisis. I defy you not to cry at this one. We have a long way to go, but we’ve also COME a long way!

This song, The Last Song by Elton John, affected me so much that I titled one of my stories about a character with AIDS from a line in the song. I've listened to it many times, and it still brings tears to my eyes. We lost so many loved ones and friends back then.

Yesterday, you came to lift me up,

Light as straw and brittle as a bird

 

 

[Wesley8890]

This is a more recent one. It's speaks to me a lot. Not as much as True Colors though

[TetRefine]

In no particular order...

 

-Born This Way (Lady Gaga)

-Go West (Village People)

-YMCA (Village People)

-Macho Man (Village People)

-This Is Me (From, The Greatest Showman)

-It's Raining Men (Weather Girls)

-Dancing Queen (Abba)

-Believe (Cher)

-Finally (CeCe Pendleton)

-Free (Ultra Nate)

-Smalltown Boy (Bronsky Beet) 

-RESPECT (The immortal Aretha Franklin)

-Freedom '90 (George Michael)

-I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston)

-Sissy That Walk (RuPaul)

-I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)

-I'm Coming Out (Diana Ross)

-Pride: A Deeper Love (Aretha Franklin)

 

I could go on and on. So many classics from so many decades, and they keep on coming!

[Thorn Wilde]

I Am What I Am, from La Cage Aux Folles. There are so many good versions of it, I wouldn't know which one to link to...

[TetRefine]

On 10/11/2018 at 3:54 PM, Wesley8890 said:

This is a more recent one. It's speaks to me a lot. Not as much as True Colors though

 

I remember the first time I watched this, and seeing the struggle of the teenage boy. I quietly cried to myself. It was so relatable. 

 

I haven't watched this music video in awhile, and seeing it again brings up so many different emotions. Thanks for posting!

Edited March 17, 2019 by TetRefine

[TetRefine]

This Is Me was named the Pride Song of 2018 by The Advocate magazine. The lyrics sing as if it were written for the LGBT community. I've heard this upbeat remix version played at almost every single party I've been to this year, and 3 times in one night over Pride weekend. It's one of those songs that just makes you wanna paint yourself in rainbows and dance through the streets. 😛

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6VZuWtm9H8

Edited October 12, 2018 by TetRefine

[Hunter Thomson]

Troye Sivan's blue neighbourhood trilogy

 

 

 

 

The three songs are meant to be played in sequence, and follow a fictional queer teen (teens?) growing up.

[Wesley8890]

54 minutes ago, TetRefine said:

 

I remember the first time I watched this video, and seeing the struggle of the teenage boy in the video. I quietly cried to myself. It was so relatable. 

 

I haven't watched this music video in awhile, and seeing it again brings up so many different emotions. Thanks for posting!

The first time I ever heard the song was at the Grammys when Madonna performed the marriage for all those LGBT couples

[Thorn Wilde]

So we get some lesbians up in here:

 

 

[Jason Rimbaud]

 

Not sure if this is an anthem but it speaks to me on some many levels

[Former Member]

27 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Not sure if this is an anthem but it speaks to me on some many levels

Nothing more is required for this topic!  ;–)

[Former Member]

But I’d kind of like to hear what @Wesley8890 and @Timothy M. might have to contribute…  ;–)

[MrM]

2 hours ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

 

Not sure if this is an anthem but it speaks to me on some many levels

I absolutely love this hidden gem.

 

I included it in my ‘Billy Chase’ soundtrack I did for @Comicality because it was PERFECT for that story’s beginning parts!