Popular Post autumngoodbye91 Posted July 19, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted July 19, 2021 So, I'm not sure if anyone will be interested in this But I'm very into poetry, so when I discovered that Britney used to write poetry to express her feelings and her voice, and often her desire for freedom too, I did some research and I thought I'd share! Some of it is actually really good, she's a woman of many talents And I also think it's a good time to look back on all the times Britney has used her own voice & spoken out, and to appreciate how strong and articulate she has always been. 1. "Honeymoon Poem" The first known poem Britney ever shared was on her website, where between 2004 and 2007 she kept a personal blog which she called "Letters of Truth". This poem is from November 2004 and is about her honeymoon with K-Fed It's not her greatest poem, but it's cute and fun and at this point she was just getting started. Spoiler Honeymoon Poem 11.10.2004 A honeymoon at last, to get away from it all My assistant Fe gave me the call. I remember it well, as she was smilin’ She said it was called Turtle Island. I packed my bags light and quick, Then grabbed my pink dress & favorite lipstick. We hopped on a plane and took our flight I slept really well, all through the night. As we arrive, I turn and look out the door, People are greeting us right at the shore. A meal, a shower and some ice cream Then I threw my man down, you know what I mean! Magical nights filled with stars Silence is golden, no running cars. Private dinners, romantic fires Little piece of heaven, whatever your heart desires. Friendly “hellos” and never goodbyes When you’re having fun, oh, how time flies! As we sit and prepare to make our part I thank you, Turtle Island, with all my heart! ~ Britney 2. "Remembrance of Who I Am", "Rebellion" & "All That She Wants" This is where things get a bit more dark, and where her desire for freedom and rebellion became apparent in her writing. "Remembrance of Who I Am" was published on her blog on May 22nd, 2006, though she took it down and put it back up several times over the next couple of weeks. Below are some screenshots and the full text. Spoiler Remembrance of Who I Am No more chains That you gave me. Enough of pain Now I’m craving Something sweet, so delight How do you stand sleeping at night? Silly patterns that we follow You pull me in I’m being swallowed. By the ones you think you love They pull you down You can’t see up above. Manipulation is the key They screw it in Because you’re naive. You come to me now Why do you bother? Remember the Bible The sins of the Father. What you do You pass down No wonder why I lost my crown. You don’t see me now You ask yourself why My crown is back And it’s way too high For you to be in my presence Especially my son You should bow down I’ve only just begun. The guilt you fed me Made me weak. The voodoo you did I couldn’t speak. You’re awakening The phone is ringing. Resurrection of my soul The fear I’m bringing. What will you say And what will you do? She’s not the same person that you’re used to. You trick me one, twice, now it’s three. Look who’s smiling now Damn, it’s good to be me! *This is for everyone who thinks they know me… I forgive you. The pictures were taken on the set of her video for "Do Somethin'", which she co-directed herself under the name Mona Lisa ("Mona Lisa" of course being the title of a song she wrote which would have been on the unfinished/unreleased Original Doll album, as this was definitely a time when she was trying to gain more creative control over her music and image). In the 18 months between ‘Honeymoon Poem’ and ‘In Remembrance of Who I Am’, Britney clearly evolved as a writer. While ‘Honeymoon’ is cute, endearing, and a bit silly, ‘Remembrance’ is on a whole new level. It’s dark, angry, self-aware, personal, and defiant. The poem contains an almost Biblical evil dad motif ("Remember the Bible / The sins of the Father") and general references to being silenced, manipulated or abused, but at the same time also anger, revenge and strength. It's very dark but in a way also hopeful: there's a desire to break free from her chains and she depicts it almost as a rebirth ("Resurrection of my soul"). Some of these verses would later reappear in the unreleased song "All That She Wants", recorded in 2006 and leaked in 2008, which samples the Ace of Bass song. This version is even more explicit: "How can you men stand sleeping at night? / The silly pattern that I followed / I saw my mama being swallowed / By the one, who she loved / He pulled her down, couldn’t see up above." Here, she's clearly talking about the intergenerational trauma in her family, the patterns of abuse (her father abusing her mother, and the abuse then being handed down to her). Another part, "But, with me / You have a career? I can’t tell / I train you men so well" seems to imply that she felt K-Fed was leeching off her success. Full lyrics: Spoiler [Chorus:] All that she wants is another baby She’s gone tomorrow, boy All that she wants is another baby (Yeah) [x3] Needed a fight as an excuse To get away from me, you’ve misused Sit there, make me look guilty You will leave in anyway But, with me You have a career? I can’t tell I train you men so well No more boosting your egos Come on, you’re smoking, what the hell knows [Chorus] No more chains that you gave me Enough of pain, now I’m craving Something sweet, so delight How can you men stand sleeping at night? The silly pattern that I followed I saw my mama being swallowed By the one, who she loved He pulled her down, couldn’t see up above Manipulation was his key He screwed it in, ‘cause she was naive We’re not perfect, we must say But, now I’ve got to run away [Chorus] And finally, some of these themes are also echoed in her infamous unreleased song "Rebellion", of which she posted a snippet on her official site in 2006, and which contains the lyrics "Be wary of others, the ones closest to you / The poison they feed you and the voodoo that they do / But in rebellion, there's a sparkle of truth" -- compare this with the voodoo references in "Remembrance". Full lyrics of the snippet: Spoiler Be wary of others The ones closest to you The poison they feed you And the voodoo that they do But in rebellion there’s a sparkle of truth Don’t just stand there Do what you’ve got to do You’ll find it in rebellion Your body starts breathing They’re not believing what they’re seeing ‘Cause you’re rebellion You’ll find it so compelling With everyone yelling Because your soul you’re not selling Cause you’re rebellion So here we see the same themes -- being wary of those closest to her, being manipulated by them ("voodoo"), wanting to break free, not wanting to sell her soul i.e. not wanting to sacrifice her happiness for money (as her team and her family want her to do).3. "Who Decides?" This poem wasn't published on her blog (which disappeared in 2007, when Britney's opportunities for expressing herself were already slowly but surely being taken away from her, even before the conservatorship started). She apparently wrote this sometime in 2009, and it's very critical of the conservatorship, about the way her actions being controlled, and about the way she's being exploited for money. It was supposed to be included in the Sweet Dreams interlude during the Circus Tour, but of course her team didn't allow this. It has been circulating online for many years (after someone who supposedly worked on films for the tour leaked it), but disclaimer: there's really no way to verify 100% that she actually wrote it. I believe she did, though. Full text: Spoiler Who Decides? Do you really care what I wear? What I do? If I cut off my hair? Get the right shot. Cash the big check. Is it not okay to express myself? Can you imagine having your freedom taken away? Who decides what’s right and what’s wrong? Who are they to judge? Have you ever lied? Have you ever been lied to? Have you ever felt regret? Have you ever been forgiven? Who decides? 4. Britney Jean Poems These poems, which were included in the Britney Jean album booklet, are very different in tone. They're very dream-like, not at all dark or explicit or critical of her situation. I think it's clear that at this point, Britney was completely silenced by those around her, and had no avenues to express the truth of the abuse she endured. Still, I think the poems are good. They're also very Britney ("only one person can wear this red", yes queen!) I've transcribed them from her own handwriting in the booklet, so I'm not sure if they're 100% accurate: Spoiler 1. The beauty we see, adventurous quest the darkest void avoid the rest Numb my bones See no sea illusionist image under cut trees little unions. 2. Make a wish a princess dream Unfold the map a small lil bean to vanish the air and trace out the new So scared to love, so guess who knew? 3. Holding the thread close to a dream while intelligence becomes the steel for what if gold showed, token sold while manners abright & right fully bold make a wish a princess dream unfold the map a small lil bean to vanish the air and trace out the new so scared to love so guess who knew beautiful voice creeps in my head only one person can wear this red traces behavior young & small I see land & must fall Sooo anyway thanks for listening to my TED Talk I actually did this research like two years ago to make a zine, but I thought I'd share it here too. I want to finish with these lines from "Remembrance of Who I Am": "You don’t see me now You ask yourself why My crown is back And it’s way too high For you to be in my presence" These prophetic words are finally coming true. Her crown is back. I'm so proud of her. Queen of poetry. 13 Link to comment
I'mNotTheAverageLady Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 I love these so so much, she's definitely a poet. A singer-songwriter with style Link to comment
Heitorzinho Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Love love love this topic, you've done a really good job <3 By the way, I think it's "a princess dream" in the second poem from Britney Jean, just like you wrote the third one. 2 Link to comment
autumngoodbye91 Posted July 19, 2021 Author Share Posted July 19, 2021 29 minutes ago, Heitorzinho said: Love love love this topic, you've done a really good job <3 By the way, I think it's "a princess dream" in the second poem from Britney Jean, just like you wrote the third one. Thank you, that makes me so happy And yes you're right! Not sure how I didn't realise that, lmao. Gonna edit it now! 1 Link to comment
mannequinn Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 “pepsi’s pepsi” - shake-spears 4 Link to comment
Fita Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 So cool! The poems from her honeymoon with Kevin are great, I think (She mentioned Felicia, awn)!! Thank you for this. I really into poetry too (I write poetry too)... She could maybe release them in her future book telling all her truth/side of the history (taking back her own narrative, as Lana Del Rey said)! 2 Link to comment
autumngoodbye91 Posted July 19, 2021 Author Share Posted July 19, 2021 20 minutes ago, Rafael Fita said: So cool! The poems from her honeymoon with Kevin are great, I think (She mentioned Felicia, awn)!! Thank you for this. I really into poetry too (I write poetry too)... She could maybe release them in her future book telling all her truth/side of the history (taking back her own narrative, as Lana Del Rey said)! Omg I really hope she does!! I wonder if she's still been writing them throughout the conservatorship. I'd love for her to publish them someday. And ahh so cool that you write your own poetry too, so do I! 1 Link to comment
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