ANE BRUN: I picked this song because it’s about something outside of me, in a way. Usually, if I want to write about something that’s going on in the world, that’s going on in society, I have to write it in a moment when I have a lot of feelings about it. Otherwise it doesn’t work.

I wrote this song during an election period in Sweden when there was a lot of anti-feminist talk, about how we don’t need more feminism and comments like that. It just made me so provoked. I often think that women don’t get enough credit for everything that they do. We’ve created this society that gives women all these possibilities, and we’re so proud of the fact that women in Sweden are free to do what they want, but it’s almost like we forget that a lot of women sacrificed so much to create this society that we live in.

I wanted to make a song that was kind of like an homage to these women, because the rights we have now probably wouldn’t have been won if they hadn’t made those sacrifices. Because, let’s face it, men don’t walk the streets for women’s rights. Women march for everyone’s rights, but men don’t and I think that’s strange. I feel like, even now, when a lot of boys are falling behind in school, it feels like men are expecting women to take care of that.

Of course, there are some fantastic men out there who are fighting with women, but mostly it seems like they are just complaining. It’s almost like there’s an undertone of blaming the women’s movement for young boys falling behind in school, while women are like, ‘Can you please just come in and fight a little bit?’ That’s the feeling I get anyway.

BEST FIT: Were you thinking of any women in particular while you were writing it?

I think I was just thinking of everyone from the big names from 50 or 100 years back to women like my mum and others of her generation who worked so hard to find a balance. If you think about women in the ‘80s, they were supposed to be very independent but at the same time they had all this pressure to be the best housewives, and working double because of that. Also the pressure to be pretty at the same time.

Women of my mum’s generation had it tough, I think. They came from parents who had grown up in such a different society, and it’s really amazing how they carried that weight. My generation, we have our struggles, but it’s totally different.

We’ve talked a bit before about how inspired you are by the younger generations of women coming up.

Yeah, it’s just so refreshing to see them being so natural in their way of grasping the world and embracing it. When I play with younger female musicians, it almost makes me cry to see them be so sure of themselves and their abilities. I wish I’d had that around me when I was growing up.

It’s weird to think about what we grew up with in the ‘90s. We romanticised a lot of weird stuff, like Pretty Woman and the other very strange films that we watched. I mean, Pretty Woman is a fucked-up movie! I remember for years thinking it was so romantic, but it’s not. And looking back at that Michael Jackson video [“The Way You Make Me Feel”] where he follows that young girl down a back street. So creepy, oh my god.

Anyway, it makes me very, very happy and inspired to play with these talented young women. It just gives me so much energy. I can get so emotional just talking about it. It’s so amazing to see them being so free. I love that.

Even though you were so provoked when you wrote the song, it’s interesting that the song comes from a place of gratitude rather than confrontation or anger. I think that comes across really nicely in the music video as well.

It’s a celebration, and I think we don’t see much celebration of these women. Even International Women’s Day is very much an angry day. So this song and this video is for all of those women who know themselves how much they have fought. If you feel that you’ve been in that fight, this song is for you. A lot of people have talked about this song through the years and I know that a lot of people feel very empowered by it.

I think this song also shows different side to your voice as well.

Yeah, that was another moment where I tried to do something different. Like, let’s try and sing like Jill Scott and see if I can pull it off!

I do sing along with artists like that all the time and I’ve always done that, so this time I wanted to try and do it when singing one of my own songs.