"Give Me My Name Back" is a song recorded by Australian singer
Meg Mac
Megan McInerney, known by her stage name Meg Mac, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She signed to littleBIGMAN Records in 2014, locally, and 300 Entertainment in the United States.
Early life and education
Megan McInerney was b ...
. It was released on 12 October 2018. It is the lead single from her second studio album ''
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large.
As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
'', which was released on 7 June 2019.
Upon release Mac told ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' about how the song is more than a
feminist anthem: "'Give Me My Name Back' is a song for those who have suffered emotional and physical abuse, it's for the women who are standing up and speaking out, those discriminated against in the
LGBTQI
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...
community, the
Indigenous people of Australia and the children abused by the church. It's for everyone who has lost an important part of themselves and need to reclaim their identity, dignity and self-worth in order to move forward with their lives."
Critical reception
Al Newstead from ABC called the song her "most empowering anthem yet" saying "It's a bit of a change from the raw, vintage-sounding soul of her debut album, ''
Low Blows''. There's more space and synthetic sounds, all grounded by Meg's foundation-shifting set of pipes. The result is a rallying cry, an empowering anthem encouraging others to join in solidarity and take a stand."
Matthew Forbes from Outlet Mag said: "'Give Me My Name Back' achieves its desire for a wide-reaching message through its direct and all-encompassing lyricism, which are given even more weight by Meg's characteristically enthralling vocal performance. The track ventures forward in time from the vintage soul that defined her debut album to the more synthetic and futuristic territory she's explored on tracks like "Grandma’s Hands", resulting in an instrumental that's rich in texture. Despite this, the song, much like its lyrics, is at its most powerful in the simple moments – specifically, the bridge, in which the instrumental is reduced to a drum beat, letting the stirring lyrics and gorgeous harmonies take the forefront."
Music video
The music video for "Give Me My Name Back" was produced, directed and edited by
Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore and released on 11 October 2018. The music video had an all-female cast and crew.
Charts
References
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2018 songs
2018 singles
Songs with feminist themes
Meg Mac songs
Feminist anthems