Put a Woman in Charge

"Put a Woman in Charge" is a song recorded by blues musician Keb' Mo' featuring country singer Rosanne Cash. The song was released on September 28, 2018 & is the lead single off his 2019 album "Oklahoma" on Concord Records. A music video for the song was released on October 11, 2018 on Keb' Mo's YouTube channel. The video is dedicated to his mom who died at the age of 91, because she was a strong and powerful leader. The song charted at No. 10 on the Billboard Blues Songs Chart. The album charted at #2.

Mo' wrote when the video was released: ""My mother just recently passed at the age of 91. She was smart. She was strong. She was a leader. This video is dedicated to her & amazing women everywhere that are getting the job done."

He was quoted on his website as saying:

"Put A Woman In Charge’ is about trying something else. There have been a lot of great achievements made by men or by the masculine, but maybe, just maybe, we’ve gotten too comfortable with the imbalance of men in power & have fallen short by not listening & embracing what women have to offer when they lead. I think the song should be heard & conversations need to be had. It’s about empowering each & every one of us to contribute & to be brave to step forward & speak up."

He acknowledges in a 2019 Rolling Stone article on the song that the opening lines of the song about building borders & walls were written as a protest against the southern border policies of Donald Trump at that time.

In 2020 the singer Gradie issued a recording with new lyrics as a tribute to New Zealand's "wonderful Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, in recognition of the sterling work she has done & is doing for the people of our beautiful land, Aotearoa."

Way back when
In the beginning of time
Man made the fire, then the wheel
Went from a horse to an automobile
He said "The world is mine"
He took the oceans & the sky
He set the borders, built the walls
He won't stop 'til he owns it all
Em - /  / C - / Em - ://
And here we are
Standing on the brink of disaster
Enough is enough is enough is enough
I know the answer:
G - / B7 - / Cmaj7 - / B7 - 
Put a woman in charge (Put a woman in charge, put a woman in charge)
Put the women in charge (Put the women in charge, put the women in charge)
Put a woman in charge (Put a woman in charge, put a woman in charge)
Put the women in charge (Put the women in charge, put the women in charge)
Em - / G - / A - / B7 -
The time has come
We've got to turn this world around (world around)
Call the mothers, call the daughters (call the daughters)
We need the sisters of mercy now
She'll be a hero, not a fool
She's got the power to change the rules
She's got something (something) that men don't have (yes we have)
She is kind & she understands

So let the ladies
Do what they were born to do 
Raise the vibration
And make a better place for me & you 

Hallelujah (Hallelujah) Hallelujah
We're gonna feel the magic
When the girls take over (take over)
It's gonna be fantastic! (We need more women in charge)

Songwriters: Keb' Mo', Beth Nielsen Chapman, John Lewis Parker
© Concord Music Publishing LLC, Karen Schauben Publishing Administration, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.