Carole King Revisits 1983 Song ‘One Small Voice’ After Women’s March
Carole King rereleased her 1983 song “One Small Voice” after finding inspiration from the historic Women’s March on Washington and parallel gatherings across the nation.
The songwriting legend took part in a January 21st march in Stanley, Idaho – where she resides now – alongside 29 other people, nearly half the town’s population, who braved a snowstorm for the event.
“I carried a handmade sign that said ‘One Small Voice’ because I’ve never stopped believing that one small voice plus millions of other small voices is exactly how we change the world,” King wrote in a letter published on the Huffington Post.
“One Small Voice,” which draws inspiration from the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, initially appeared on King’s 1983 LP Speeding Time. Two decades after releasing the song, King said she recorded an alternate version that stripped the dated synthesizers off the song; however, King never released that new rendition until after the Women’s March.
“I’m making the updated recording of ‘One Small Voice’ available to everyone because it will take the strength and persistence of many small voices to overcome the lies of the loudest voice with our message of truth, dignity, and decency,” King added.
The re-recorded rendition of “One Small Voice” is available as a free download on King’s Soundcloud.
“One Small Voice” Lyrics
The Emperor’s got no clothes on
No clothes? That can’t be; he’s the Emperor
Take that child away
Don’t let the people hear the words he has to say
One small voice
Speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
we were taught as children
So you walk away and say, Isn’t he divine?
Don’t those clothes look fine on the Emperor?
And as you take your leave
You wonder why you’re feeling so ill-at-ease
Don’t you know?
Lies take your soul
You can’t hide from yourself
Lies take their toll on you
And everyone else
One small voice speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
we were taught as children
Tell the truth
You can change the world
But you’d better be strong
The Emperor’s got no clothes on, no clothes
He doesn’t want to know what goes on,
though everyone knows
One small voice: The Emperor’s got no clothes on
One small voice: The Emperor’s got no clothes on
One small voice can change the world
But you’d better be strong