Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued her passionate 35-page dissent against the court's controversial decision that closely held corporations aren't required to pay for contraception if it goes against the company's religious beliefs (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.). Now Jonathan Mann has turned the Notorious RBG's cautionary words into a song.
Recorded as part of his ongoing "Song a Day" project on YouTube, Mann's sings over warm acoustic guitar chords. RGB's arguments already have a poetic quality to them, so they work well as lyrics.
As The Washington Post points out, this isn't the first time someone has translated Ginsburg's career into song. Derrick Wang, who holds degrees in music and law, wrote the opera "Scalia/Ginsburg" about her dramatic legal decisions and the dynamic between her and Justice Scalia.
Check out Mann's Ginsberg-inspired song and lyrics below, and let us know what you think in the comments section!
"Ginsburg's Hobby Lobby Dissent" Lyrics:
Religious organizations exist
To foster the interests
Of persons subscribing to the same religious faith
Not so of for-profit corporations
Workers who sustain the operations
Are not drawn from one religious community
It bears note that the cost of an IUD
Is nearly equivalent
To a month's full-time pay
For workers making minimum wage
The court I fear
Has ventured into a minefield
Full of slut-shaming geezers
And religious extremism
One thing's clear
This fight isn't over
We gotta stand together
For what we know is right
Any decision to use contraceptives
Is not propelled by government
It's the woman's autonomous choice, informed by her doctor
Approving some religious claims
While deeming others unworthy
Could be perceived as favoring one religion over another
Would the exemption extend to blood transfusions
Antidepressants and anesthesia
Pills coated with gelatin and vaccinations?
The court I fear
Has ventured into a minefield
Full of slut-shaming geezers
And religious extremism
But one thing's clear
This fight isn't over
We gotta stand together
For what we know is right
