Little Veiled Woman From Madinah (Sung to a Beach Boys Tune)

I hope there are lots of news reports and posts about women who drove in Saudi Arabia today.  TIME’s coverage is the only professional journalist coverage  I’ve found so far.   This is significant in so many ways.

Women are the majority in every culture unless other cultural practices such as selective abortion, infanticide (in all its forms), extreme gender differences in access to food resources are in play and institutionalized.

Arab Spring has been typified as political unrest and that often is misinterpreted because of too narrow of a definition of political.  Governmental processes only one small part of political structure.  I would make the argument that women’ participation in government, including willingness to engage in civil disobedience and to be arrested is extremely significant and at least as important for the trajectory of governance of a country as any other element of government.

While I am sure there are many ways to celebrate this important event in a continuing campaign, I find myself singing something similar to the Beach Boys Little Old Lady from “Pasadena.”

It’s the Little Veiled Woman From Madinah

The little veiled lady from Madinah
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
Has a pretty little flower bed of white gardenias
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
But parked in her family’s Saudi garage
Is her brand new shiny red Super Stock Dodge

And everybody’s saying that there’s nobody braver
Than the little veiled lady from Madinah
She drives real safe and she drives real good
She’s the terror of Amir Abdulah Boulevard
It’s the little veiled lady from Madinah

If you see her on the street don’t try to choose her
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
You might drive a goer but you’ll never lose her
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
Well, she’s gonna get a ticket now sooner or later
‘Cause she can’t keep her foot off the accelerator

And everybody’s saying that there’s nobody braver
Than the little veiled lady from Madinah
She drives real safe and she drives real good
She’s the terror of Amir Abdulah Boulevard

It’s the little veiled lady from Madinah

Go lady, go lady, go lady go

Go lady, go lady, go lady go
The cops come to bust her from miles around
But she’ll give ’em a length then she’ll shut ’em down

And everybody’s saying that there’s nobody braver
Than the little veiled lady from Madinah

She drives real safe and she drives real good
She’s the terror of Amir Abdulah Boulevard

It’s the little old lady from Pasadena

Go lady, go lady, go lady go
Lady go
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
Lady go
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
Lady go
Go lady, go lady, go lady go
Lady go

Please understand that I mean no disrespect.  I understand that Madinah is the second most holy city to Islam. It is also the Saudi city that best fits the lexical structure of the lyrics.

Go ladies!