"Quiet" is a

feminist anthem This is a list of songs described as feminist anthems celebrating women's empowerment, or used as protest songs against gender inequality. These songs range from airy pop affirmations such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, to sole ...

co-written, co-produced, and performed by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based singer-songwriter MILCK. It received national attention after she organized

a capella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

performances of the song at the

2017 Women's March The Women's March was an American protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the first inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which were and are seen as mi ...

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, after which she made the

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

publicly available and organized further activity around the song.

History

MILCK wrote "Quiet" with her co-writer Adrianne “AG” Gonzalez in 2015. While the song draws on the artist’s

adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

experiences of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, depression, and

anorexia Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

, it was inspired by “a nightmare in which she was being assaulted and a bystander in her dream told her she just had to stay quiet until it was over.” The lyrical structure of the song breaks with the most common

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

song structure Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common piece-level musical forms for vocal music include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus ...

, taking the form of verse,

pre-chorus Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically section (music), sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common piece-level musical forms for vocal music include bar form, thirty-two-ba ...

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, pre-chorus, chorus,

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

, chorus. MILCK organized 26 singers from various choirs around the U.S. into the #ICANTKEEPQUIET chorus, to perform an a cappella version of her song

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organize ...

style during the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C. One performance with the singers from the GW Sirens & Capital Blend went

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on the internet; MILCK was praised for having authored the “unofficial anthem” of the Women’s March. Within a week, MILCK and other performers reprised the Women's March version on the television show ''

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee ''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'' is an American late-night talk and news satire television program that aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. The show was hosted by comedian Samantha Bee, a former correspondent on ''The Daily Show''. In July 2 ...

''. In response to the attention given to "Quiet" as a result of the Women's March, MILCK publicized the song on

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using the

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#ICANTKEEPQUIET. This was intended to allow people to share their stories and access the sheet music for the a cappella version for free, so that they could create their own #ICANTKEEPQUIET choirs.

Personnel

* MILCK – composer, lead vocals *

Adrianne Gonzalez Adrianne E. Gonzalez (born 1977), also known as AG, is an American songwriter, producer, composer, and mix engineer. Early life and education Gonzalez was born and raised in Miami, where she was a chorister and taught herself piano and guitar, ...

– composer, background vocals *Rod Castro – guitar *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey, The Wallflow ...

– drums * Patricia Bahia - background vocals *Kyler England - background vocals *Keely Bumford - background vocals *

Dia Frampton Dia Frampton (born October 2, 1987) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Frampton is the lead singer of the band Meg & Dia, was the runner-up in the inaugural season of '' The Voice,'' and is perhaps most known for her presence and ...

- background vocals *Mary Osborne - background vocals *Iljeoma Njaka - background vocals *Sophia Dion - background vocals *Hungarian Studio Orchestra - orchestra

References

{{Reflist 2017 songs Women's rights in the United States Songs about sexual assault Protest songs Protests against Donald Trump