A Fine Bohemian - Backbone Lyrics

Took a vertebra from Joan
Who burned but wouldn't bend
Borrowed ribs from Frida's core
Who painted through her pain
Claimed a disc from Hypatia
Whose mind they feared so much
Salvaged strength from nameless women
History tried to hush

I've assembled from the fearless
A spine that stands its ground
Collected from the scorned and mocked
A strength that's iron-bound
Not born with this endurance
I built it piece by piece
From women who chose walking wide
When kneeling promised peace

Some donated courage straight
Through pages that they wrote
Others offered silent gifts
From battles never known
I've gathered from the ones who laughed
When told they couldn't speak
And those who kept their voices soft
But never showed their weak

I've assembled from the fearless
A spine that stands its ground
Collected from the scorned and mocked
A strength that's iron-bound
Not born with this endurance
I built it piece by piece
From women who chose thorny paths
When smooth roads offered ease

Took a lesson from the scientists
Denied their rightful claim
Studied artists carving space
Where they were told they had no claim
Learned from mothers breaking chains
Their daughters wouldn't wear
And sisters holding doorways wide
For others walking there

Each woman stepping off the path
Becomes another link In this chain of bone and will
That helps me rise and think
Each laugh directed at their backs
Becomes calcified shield
Protecting my determined march
Through every battlefield

I've assembled from the fearless
A spine that stands its ground
Collected from the scorned and mocked
A strength that's iron-bound
Not born with this endurance
I built it piece by piece
From women who chose standing tall
Though falling promised peace

This backbone's not a single tree
But forest intertwined
Roots connecting through the soil
Of time and womankind

I honor every one who gave
A fragment of her soul
So I could stand unflinching when
They try to break my whole

When I feel my courage bending
Under weights designed to break
I feel these borrowed pieces shift
More room for strength to make
This backbone forged from others' fire
Still growing still alive
With every woman stepping out
My spine grows higher wide