Here at BUST, we’ve been fans of Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit for many years. The duo consists of two sisters, Klara and Johanna Söderberg, and they’ve released three albums and are in the studio working on a fourth.
We’re excited to show you First Aid Kit’s new, non-album song, premiering here at BUST.com in honor of International Women’s Day. The song will be available for purchase this Friday, March 10, with the band’s proceeds going to the nonprofit organization Women For Women International. Titled “You Are The Problem Here,” this powerful song is a statement against rape culture. “I am so sick and tired of this world / All these women with their dreams shattered / From some man’s sweaty desperate touch / God damn it I’ve had enough,” it begins, later continuing: “We don’t need to be diminished / To sisters or daughters or mothers / I am a human being / That is how you relate to me.”
Klara and Johanna Söderberg tell BUST:
Today is the International Women’s Day and the theme of the year is #BeBoldForChange. “You Are the Problem Here” isn’t a typical First Aid Kit-song. It’s angry and direct. It’s a song written out of despair. After reading about yet another rape case where the perpetrator was handed a sentence which did not at all reflect the severity of his crime we felt upset and vengeful. We were, and are, sick of living in a society where the victims of rape are often blamed for the horrible thing that has been done to them. Our message is clear and should not be controversial in the least: if you rape, you are the problem. Alcohol is not the problem. So-called “youth culture” is not the problem. You are. And you always have a choice.
Listen to “You Are The Problem Here” and read the full lyrics below:
I am so sick and tired of this world
All these women with their dreams shattered
From some man’s sweaty desperate touch
God damn it I’ve had enough
When did you come to think refusal was sexy
Can’t you see the tears in her eyes
How did you think you ever think you had the right to
Put your entitled hands up her thighs
You are the problem here
You are the problem here
No one made you do anything
You are the problem here
You are the problem here
No one made you do anything
And I hope you fucking suffer
Do you really expect anyone to feel sorry
That you ruined your own life
You did it when you thought you had the right to
Put your entitled hands up her thighs
We don’t need to be diminished
To sisters or daughters or mothers
I am a human being
That is how you relate to me
You are the problem here
You are the problem here
No one made you do anything
That’s not how liquor works
You are the problem here
You are the problem here
No one made you do anything
And I hope you fucking suffer
Top photo by Nirrimi Firebrace
More from BUST
First Aid Kit Are Old Soul Sisters: BUST Interview
First Aid Kit Comes To America
Can’t Take Off Work? 7 Actions For A Day Without A Woman