Favorite Songs Ever, Part 2: "Joyful Girl" - Ani Difranco

Ani Difranco has long been my favorite artist. I first heard her when I was 16 and really into learning to play my acoustic guitar and writing angry songs. She was my inspiration. She was my idol.


What’s strange about Ani, is that she has such a stigma attached to her. You can’t actually tell people that Ani Difranco is your favorite musician because it automatically puts an idea in their head about you. They think you’re silly. They think you’re easily angered. They think you take yourself too seriously. They think you’re a “grrrrrrrl”.

But, she is. She is mine. I always come back to her. She taught me how to play guitar. She taught me how to sing. She taught me how to write. Luckily, I don’t think I copy her style in my own songs. Besides the fake nails I wear, my songs are nowhere near as angry or political. But she does come through.

Being that she is my favorite artist, she has a multitude of songs that could be deemed a favorite, so a while back I decided I needed to pick a favorite. “Joyful Girl” was the winner.

It didn’t win by default. It won completely on its own merits. It is a beautiful song. She once said it was her attempt at writing a hymn. I think that’s awesome. It certainly has a churchy/spiritual quality to it.

The lyrics are unapologetic, as are all of Ani’s songs. But they are much more delicate. They are self-reflective and blatantly so:

“cuz the bathroom mirror has not budged
and the woman who lives there can tell
the truth from the stuff that they say
and she looks me in the eye
and says do you prefer the easy way
no, well ok then
don’t cry”

There was a time in my youth where I aspired to live this song. To live my life in an unapologetic and strictly my own way. To “just do it for the joy it brings”. And I still am trying and I think I’m finally getting there.

Below is the music video for this song. It is one of very few videos she has made and it is also a remix of the album version. Still very cool.