Tori's music has been incredibly instrumental in my journey towards healing after rape.  I hadn't heard much of her music until a friend told me about Little Earthquakes.  I bought the CD because I heard she had written a song about her own rape experience.  I couldn't imagine anyone being brave enough to sing about something so desperately personal.  

I put the CD in and immediately went to track 11, 'Me and A Gun.'  Her voice silently filled the room and I listened to her quietly describing her own personal nightmare in a language I recognized too well. I was overwhelmed with emotion.  That first time, I couldn't listen to the song all the way through.  After a few verses, I quickly turned the CD off, it was just too much to bear.  

I tried to put it out of my mind, but the song haunted me.  A few days later, I sat down and listened to it in its entirety.  I put the song on repeat and listened to it over and over.  Every memory, every emotion, everything I had tried so hard to not think about for 2 1/2 years was now as fresh and raw as it was the day it happened.

I know so many rape survivors that have experienced something similar when hearing 'Me and a Gun.'  It is fascinating and yet brutally painful.  We at times feel like masochists, reliving our own rapes as Tori sings about hers.  

The power of the song, like much of Tori's music, is the comfort in finding that you are not alone.  It is the most powerful gift a survivor can receive.  We hear the numbers, we know it must happen to others, but no one talks about it.  We feel isolated in our anguish and shame.  Tori's music gives us hope and inspiration, and for that, I am forever grateful.

Here are the lyrics for the songs from six of Tori's albums. 
Click on the album cover for the lyrics.

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