Piece of My Heart

Writer: 
Jerry Ragovoy/Bert Burns
Year: 
1967
Voices: 
Women's four part
Ranges: 

Tenor: D#4 - E5
Lead: G#3 - C#5
Bari: B3 - A4
Bass: E3 - E4

This song lives on the cusp of Second Wave Feminism. Its lyrics portray a woman fighting to maintain her pride in a neglectful, if not outright abusive, relationship, although it remains, at this stage, still essentially masochistic. She berates, but - in the lyrics at least - does not challenge. The iconic performances from the late 1960s (Erma Franklin, Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield), though, tell a different story. Anger is erupting into the voices: the personal is poised to become overtly political.

Here it is sung by Magenta: