Empty Playgrounds

Album: Reversing Roe: The Norma McCorvey Story (2002)

Songfacts®:

  • "Empty Playgrounds" started life as a poem by Norma McCorvey, who was Jane Roe in the 1973 US Supreme Court decision Roe v Wade. Norma Leah McCorvey (1947-2017) was in her own words the kind of girl mothers warned their daughters about. She married at 16 but she and Woody McCorvey soon split up. At the age of 21, pregnant for the third time, she sought an abortion, which was mostly illegal in the United States.

    A chance encounter with an attorney led to a meeting with Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, who were looking for a test case to front a class action lawsuit that would entail her claiming to have been the victim of a gang-rape. Norma became their shill, and although she did not in fact have an abortion, she did begin working for an abortion clinic.

    Another chance encounter, this time with the charismatic preacher Flip Benham, led to her becoming a born again Christian and revealing she had been misled by Weddington and Coffee. She devoted the rest of her life to opposing the social change she had helped bring about, and wrote "Empty Playgrounds" as a deep expression of remorse. It was set to music by Christian songwriter Phil Keaggy and was used in the documentary Reversing Roe: The Norma McCorvey Story. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Justin Hayward of The Moody BluesSongwriter Interviews

Justin wrote the classic "Nights In White Satin," but his fondest musical memories are from a different decade.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.