Sossity: You're a Woman

Album: Benefit (1970)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In the 2013 reissue of Benefit, Ian Anderson wrote in the liner notes: "This obviously is written as a double-meaning where I'm notionally talking about an imaginary girl in frankly a rather thin and embarrassing pun... I suppose what I was referring to was a view of rather affluent if not upper class society, and I suppose a bit of disdain that I might have felt for people who would display wealth and authority without having earned it. I mean, I'm a leftie at heart...

    Sossity as a song title and as a weak pun, it's not very good. As an instrumental piece of music it's quite nice... there are a couple of awkward harmonic jumps in it, but they make sense and they bring the song back round again. So it's kind of okay musically, it's quite an interesting idea, but lyrically I was never really comfortable with it. And it's mainly that one word, Sossity, an invented word that seemed like a rather prissy girl's name."

Comments: 1

  • Kat from UsMartin Barre bought a boat and named it Sossity, and Ian Anderson made fun of him for it, thinking Martin thought Sossity was a real woman. Ian could be such a dick.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."