How Janis Ian wrote “Society’s Child”
Clip: 5/22/2025 | 1m 10sVideo has Closed Captions
Janis Ian was inspired to write “Society’s Child” after observing an interracial couple on her bus.
Janis Ian was inspired to write “Society’s Child” after observing an interracial couple on her school bus. Ian wrote the song at just 15 years old, imagining the societal pressures the couple may have been under.
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Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...
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How Janis Ian wrote “Society’s Child”
Clip: 5/22/2025 | 1m 10sVideo has Closed Captions
Janis Ian was inspired to write “Society’s Child” after observing an interracial couple on her school bus. Ian wrote the song at just 15 years old, imagining the societal pressures the couple may have been under.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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How do today’s masters create their art? Each episode an artist reveals how they brought their creative work to life. Hear from artists across disciplines, like actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, singer-songwriter Jewel, author Min Jin Lee, and more on our podcast "American Masters: Creative Spark."Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- "Society's Child" is a great song.
You have this young girl with a guitar taking on the beast, interracial relationships.
(bus rumbling) - [Janis] I was sitting on a bus in East Orange, New Jersey.
I was 14 and I was one of, I think four, maybe five Caucasian kids in an all-Black school and neighborhood.
Very middle class, very upwardly mobile neighborhood.
But still, I was definitely the outsider.
I was on the bus watching a young couple.
He was Black and she was white, and they were young and they were holding hands, and they were just oblivious to the way people were glaring at them, not just white people.
I mean, everyone was glaring at them.
And I started thinking about how hard that was going to be and wondering whether their parents even knew that they were dating and if their parents didn't know, whether anybody on the bus was going to tell on them.
I wondered whether the girl would be able to take the pressure and in the end, I thought she probably wouldn't.
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Preview: 6/20/2025 | 2m 30s | Trace the life and music of “Society’s Child” folk icon and LGBTQ+ advocate Janis Ian. (2m 30s)
Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” as a tribute to her friend
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Clip: 5/22/2025 | 3m 2s | Janis Ian wrote “Some People’s Lives” with songwriter Kye Fleming. (3m 2s)
Why Janis Ian’s song “At Seventeen” was so universally beloved
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Clip: 5/22/2025 | 2m 5s | Janis Ian’s song “At Seventeen” spoke to audiences of all kinds and had a universal relevance. (2m 5s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...