I see interracial couples all the time in Nashville. I'm a Jew in Nashville. I'm a gay person in Nashville. It's a non-issue in most of the time. That's a huge leap forward.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the acceptance of diverse identities and relationships in Nashville.
Janis Ian emphasizes the progress made in societal acceptance of interracial and diverse relationships in Nashville. She shares her personal experience as a Jewish and gay person, highlighting how these identities are generally regarded as non-issues, signaling a significant advancement in tolerance and equality within the community.
In practice
This quote can be shared at a community event celebrating diversity.
I was one of I think three white girls in my school. So, I was very much an outsider. And plus I was Jewish and all of my friends were black and Baptist because they listen to the coolest music. We were all listening to Ray Charles and what was then called race music.
Artists are taught to be humble about their impact, especially in folk music. It's so ingrained that I have a hard time even thinking I had any impact other than what a normal hit song would have.
It's what I do well - I write about things that make people uncomfortable. That's probably the only thing I do better than my peers.
'Society's Child' was a real hard record to start with. That's all you want is for you to put your first record out and have people screaming at you in the streets. But it taught me right away that what I was doing was valuable and important.
I had a vague idea of the song's impact in the '60s, but that was tempered by the hate mail and threats I was receiving. It was only about ten years ago, when I finally put it back in my show because so many people were asking for it, that I understood 'Society's Child' real impact.
It seems to be part of the human condition to need someone you can look down on. I still don't get that one.
Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.
If you hit a pony over the nose at the outset of your acquaintance, he may not love you but he will take a deep interest in your movements ever afterwards
Do not believe that living together before marriage guarantees the future. By burning certain stages, you risk burning love itself. Time needs to be respected gradually, just like the expressions of love.
How can a Man respect his Wife when he has a contemptible Opinion of her and her Sex?
In order to really understand, we need to listen, not reply. We need to listen long and attentively. In order to help anybody to open his heart we have to give him time, asking only a few questions, as carefully as possible in order to help him better explain his experience.
Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.
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