Chords for Girl Rock Nation: Melissa Auf der Maur

[Gm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _
[Gm] My mother is definitely [G] my foremost female icon [Cm] hero
and was the first female rock disc jockey in [Dm] Montreal, Canada.
She was so in love with her generation, I think it [G] instilled not only a love of music,
but [Dm] my own [A] goal to find my generation and to find who my [G] community were,
and also to play music.
I always knew I was going to be a bass player.
[C] I don't exactly know why.
[A] Now I know why, so many [C] years into [G] being committed to the bass,
and the bass having been my magic carpet ride through life [N] at this point.
My journey in Hole had actually a lot more to do with life experience
and growing as a woman in [D] music, but growing as a person.
The [N] journey was very tumultuous.
It was more about emotional development, really,
and being on a journey, two women in the front of the stage,
trying to, what I said earlier, make an impact on a male-dominated landscape.
As different as Courtney and I are, [Eb] and we are pretty much polar opposite in [Gm] every way,
we found a connection in that [Cm] mission [F] and did it very differently.
I mean, I was [Eb] literally the good girl, [G] good Canadian, not screaming,
and she was screaming at the [Cm] audience.
It was a very interesting, beautiful balance for two women so different
to be aligned [G] trying to say the same thing,
which is, listen, ladies, we are like you, you're like [D] us, you could be up here,
we have [Cm] something to say that's different than the guys that played before or after us.
[Eb] And so Courtney and I, our fates are [C] eternally entwined
because [D] of that [Cm] mission that we [G] went on together.
I'm still very proud of it.
The Smashing Pumpkins are [Eb] definitely the band that changed [Cm] my life on every [F] level,
and [G] Billy Corgan in particular being really my first big brother in music
who [N] took a chance on me and believed in me.
It was before I had even really started playing the bass,
I saw the Smashing Pumpkins play for a dollar prior to the release of even their first [G] record.
Darcy probably did subconsciously make a pretty big impression on me,
[D] but I don't even think I was intellectually thinking this band has female bass [Gm] player.
It was just the sound of the music was so_
it _
[C] changed something [G] in me.
I [Cm] found myself and my musical landscape inside of me,
and anyone who [Gm] knows and loves music knows that feeling when you see,
you hear something for the first time and you discover yourself.
[C] And so I was probably 18 and maybe I'd had a bass sitting by [Eb] me for a moment,
but I hadn't quite [C] found _ [F] an [G] inspiration to pick it up.
And I saw these guys play and I knew that's what I wanted to do.
[Eb] And because of the way that it [D] grabbed me, I wanted to follow it.
[Gm] Still now with my solo projects and my time in the Pumpkins,
[Eb] which was interesting, being the only woman in [C] a male band,
[G] it's always been a huge part of why I do what I do,
which is women need to be [Dm] represented in this male [G] landscape.
We naturally are different [Dm] in rock music, so we will stand out,
[C] not only because we are few, but our interpretation [G] of music and the way we play [Dm] it
and the way we act within a role in bands and [D] even within our relationships [C] within the industry.
It's such a [F] different [G] tone to be a woman in rock and roll.
It's just a new take.
It's a [Cm] fresh take on rock music, and it still is even to this day.
There's fewer of us than there are [G] men, and it's just kind of like a cool twist.
It's an alternative twist [Cm] on rock, and I continue [C] to feel very proud
to represent the female [G] perspective within rock music.
Be strong, be committed, know yourself.
[D] Don't try to be like anybody else.
Be an individual.
I was raised [G] by incredible parents who really told me,
you know [C] you, and you know what you are.
We're not going to tell you.
Your school's not going to tell you.
No band is going to tell you.
[Eb] It's about cultivating your own individual [Cm] voice,
so I would very much [G] encourage women to be daring to be different or just be [Eb] yourself.
I think the genuineness [C] in music [D] is very, very [G] clear.
You see it and you know it when someone's being honest,
whether it's being honestly [Eb] sad, [Ab] mad, or [G] honestly happy, perky, [C] whatever it is.
Be an [D] honest person, and that will also [G] make your life better, not only your music. _ _ _
_ _ [Gb] _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _