I've just been listening to a brilliant programme on BBC Radio 4, part of their Sunday Best series. It's about the Gloria Gaynor anthem I will survive. How it got composed, what it is in the music that makes it so gripping, and the role it's played in people's lives.
We get the story of the woman whose husband walked out of a forty year marriage, another woman who recorded five versions of it which she played end to end to help her through her break-up, the story of how Gloria Gaynor's struggles with her mother's cancer affected the way she recorded it, the yachtswoman who used it to help her through a near-fatal capsize, and more.
The programme also talked about what groups it particularly appeals to. They mentioned as having a particular thing about I Will Survive gay groups, straight women's clubs and those national groups who have in common they feel they're getting a raw deal . It reminded me of Lisa's post about the Arabic version (Helweh Il Hayat) being the most popular jukebox choice in one of Tel-Aviv's gay clubs.
It also introduced the So You've Been Dumped web site, because its founder talked about how I Will Survive was always in the top five of members' choice of songs that had helped them through their break-ups.
The site has a great collection of break-up lines, and you can submit your own if your particular dumpster has thought of something particularly original. Mostly, though, this page covers everything I've ever heard. Or heard of. Then there's the tougher How to Tell if You're Over It (as if you wouldn't know...) and this shorter version. But my favourite is the list of appalling and useless cliches people tell you in the fond but mistaken belief they're helping you get over it.
The BBC Radio 4 Listen Again A-Z page has got a link to the I Will Survive broadcast as a pick of today on the right hand side of the page. After that, you should be able to pick it up via the Sunday Best link.
Don't miss it.
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