Wow.

I just drove to Chicago with my daughter for a basketball tournament. That’s 12 hours each way. We listened to music. I enjoy the band Florence and the Machine.

But this one song bothered me. It’s called “King” and is all about the lead singer’s decision to have a child. And she clearly views having a child as ending her career and/or ending her artistic endeavors. Here are the lyrics.

We argue in the kitchen about whether to have children
And about the world ending, and the scale of my ambition
And how much is art really worth
The very thing you’re best at is the thing that hurts the most
But you need your rotten heart
Your dazzling pain like diamond rings
You need to go to war to find material to sing
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
I need my golden crown of sorrow
My bloody sword to swing
My empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
But a woman is a changeling, always shifting shape
Just when you think you have it figured out
Something new begins to take
What strange claws are these scratching at my skin?
I never knew my killer would be coming from within
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king

Some take this as an “Empowerment” song. I don’t. I think it’s sad. Opening your heart to others makes you better, stronger, and more alive. I too used to worry what would happen to my writing if I had children. Then I had them and I became better. My world grew. I loved more than I ever thought I could love. My writing became better. I’m two books in and years of columns and stories in The Catholic Digest and The National Catholic Register. And I can absolutely say I never could’ve done it without my children.