Original subtitles

VOICE: *MTV...*

[playing "Love Will Live"]

MELISSA: Once again, I would never compare my...

my experience with yours. I know we have

so many different types of experiences here,

but...

if you've known abuse, if you've known trauma...

I've known a little myself, and so I do understand it,

and I do understand how you can carry it with you.

But there finally came a time in 2016

that women all over the world were like, you know,

no, I'm not going to carry this alone anymore.

I'm going to let it be known.

You know, #MeToo, that's right.

It's about...

It's about having your own love right here,

about loving yourself

and letting all that other stuff go.

And knowing that no matter what has

ever happened to you, that your love will live.

[guitar strumming]

*Well, I can smell the lies*

*Like a filthy net on me*

*All over my skin*

*Suffocates my innocence*

*Unwelcome hands on me*

*All over again*

*But there's a lie in the shadows*

*Saying I'm to blame*

*And it's feeding on my fear*

*My confusion and my shame*

*There's a lie in these years*

*I've wasted on this pain*

*Things are gonna change*

[scattered cheers and screams]

*Right...*

*Now...*

*I did not shatter, did not crumble*

*Didn't die*

*I've chosen to live*

*I'm no longer down*

*I am so much stronger now*

*I've got so much to give*

*Not my fault*

Not my fault!

*Now it's my time*

*Oh...*

[solo-ing]

[crescendo]

*Love will live*

*My love will love*

*I did not shatter, did not crumble*

*Didn't die*

*I've chosen to live*

*Hey! I'm no longer down*

*I am so much stronger now*

*I got so much to give*

*Oh...*

*I have chosen to live*

*Oh...*

*I have chosen to live*

[cheering and applause]

I love you!

[soft music]

It's all right.

When we formed the Etheridge Foundation,

I mean, the basis of what it was to be

was to help fund research

to get...

people off of opioid addiction

or to keep them from getting on opioids.

You know, just alternatives,

because that was-- that was the frustrating part.

Well, there's a whole lot of frustrating parts

of having a loved one addicted.

STEVE PAULSON: Thinking back to what happened to your son

and sort-- I mean, this is a "what if?"

I mean, you wish that for... other kids,

you know, young people in that, you know--

hooked on these powerful drugs.

-Opioids. -Yeah.

That-- what, psilocybin would be

available to them for treatment?

Believe me, in my heart, I wished

anything had been available for my son,

you know, to legally do, and...

yes, I-- my hope is that,

within the next few years,

there is something that is recognized

by our government,

is recognized by the medical world,

that is an alternative, that is something

that we can do to help,

because there are hundreds and thousands

of people and families

that are affected by this every single day.

Yeah. What's your hope? What's your vision of

once some of these plant medicines,

some of these psychedelics become more available?

What might change? What are you hoping will happen?

I'm hoping for a change in hearts and minds.

I think that people think of drugs as drugs.

They all get thrown in.

But to understand there's a big difference,

and this-- the plant medicine--

can help...

with the problems

that the pharmaceuticals...

have in the human body.

It has everything to do with what we're doing

in the prison because it's about lighting people up.

It's about showing them other avenues,

other choices.

The research is to help

end the addiction to opioids,

which...

leads to crime,

because the person has to fund this addiction

that they can't get out of.

If you can stop that addiction...

you're going to stop the crime.

[crowd cheering]

One of the best things our society can do

is to take another look at psychedelics...

and legalize them for medical purposes.

It would absolutely change our whole country.

Want me to play some rock and roll guitar?

[up-tempo strumming]

I want the beginning of a song to be, oh, listen up.

And then you want that first part to be,

oh, what's she singing about? Oh... and then bam.

You want to hit them with something that...

a chorus that they want to hear again, you know?

That's just what I learned from...

years and years and years of songs and songwriters,

***

What I'm actually going to say to them

in introductions to the songs...

and why I'm there...

that...

I think about a lot.

***

I want to tell them, you know, there's no guilt or shame.

That stuff... that's like drinking poison.

Just... I don't want to tell anybody what they should do.

I just want to inspire, inspire.

I want them to feel like, oh,

all right... I can do this.

This is just time.

And there will be a time when I'm not here.

***

That's an idea.

LEIGH: I could tell you my whole life story

in, like, a playlist.

-Yeah, yeah. -You know, I... just tie...

songs to experiences in my life,

and I associate certain songs

-with certain memories. -Yeah.

My whole life, you know what I mean?

Fell in love with music when I was a little--

a little baby guy.

-Little baby kid. -Wow.

But do you know my music?

-Yeah. -Yes-yes-yes? Okay.

I pretty much know that people who are, like...

50, you know, like, 40, 50,

they know my main album, they know.

But once you get down to, like, 30 or something,

-It's like-- -That makes me feel bad.

'Cause I'm 53, and I don't know

-your music that well. -That's okay.

I didn't really get into music until here.

-Oh, wow. -And, I mean,

I love to hear things, but there were so many of us.

Like I said, growing up, you didn't get

to pick the station. You didn't get to pick

-the station. -You know?

I love music. I listen to a lot of classic rock,

rock, kind of everything.

Country. It doesn't really matter.

Oh, my gosh, I am so excited.

I'm so ecstatic because it'll be the only--

it'll be the second concert I've ever been to

in my entire life. The first one was, like,

Night Rangers and Cheap Trick

or something like that when I was 11 or 12.

[laughing] And it was just so fun and amazing.

Ever since then, like, I got pregnant,

and I just-- I just focused

my time and energy on that.

So, I've never really went out and never really

done any more concerts. So, when she comes,

like, that's gonna be amazing.

Man, I've been to a lot of, like,

strange music,

like Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko and them.

Def Leppard, Styx, and Foreigner.

Aerosmith, Kid Rock.

Lil Wayne, Lil Wyte.

I like Ice Cube, Prince.

I mean, I have an eclectic... genre.

I went to a Nelly concert when I was, like, 15.

I went to a Ludacris concert

in high school. [laughing]

It was awesome.

There's a lot of hope in music.

I mean, I listen to it a lot now,

like, pretty much 24/7, I have my music in my ear.

It gives you hope.

Just the hope that there's gonna be something better.

Hope that I'm gonna get away from...

the things that are hurting me.

Just hope, period.

MELISSA: My oldest, who is now 25,

when she was about 15, she actually started

listening to my music, right?

And she listened to this song and she came up to me

one day, she goes, "Mom, you're just a stalker."

-[laughter and cheers] -I was like...

I said, "Well, I did not know

I was gonna have children."

I really-- it wasn't in my plan,

I was... I am a gay, I'm lesbian.

-You know? -[cheering and applause]

Whoo.

And... And at the time,

children? I was-- I was gonna be a gay rock star.

So, children were not in my world.

It wasn't going to happen. You know, I'm just saying,

I'm writing about this experience,

and now, my children are hearing all these songs that--

all the naughty songs I wrote, so...

join me as I sing...

one of the craziest songs about basically being a stalker.

-Okay? -[cheering and applause]

*I know you're home*

*You left your light on*

*You know I'm here*

*The night is thin*

*I know you're alone*

*I watched the car leave*

*Your lover is gone*

*Let me in*

*Open your back door*

*I just need to touch you*

*Once more*

*Oh...*

*I want to come over*

*To hell with the consequence

*You told me you loved me*

*That's all I believe

*I want to come over

*It's a need I can't explain*

*To see you again*

*I want to come over*

*Oh...*

*Oh...*

*Oh...*

*Oh...*

-[holding note] -[cheering and applause]

*I know you're confused*

*I know that you're shaken*

*You think we'll be lost*

*Once we begin*

*But I know you're weak*

*I know that you want me*

[cheering]

*Lover, don't speak*

*Let me in*

[cheering]

-[cheering] -Come on.

*I wanna come over*

*To hell with the consequence

*You told me you love me

*That's all I believe*

*I want to come over

*It's a need I can't explain*

*I want to come over and over*

*To see you*

*To see you*

*Again...*

[holding note]

*Yeah*

*I want to come over*

*Hey*

*Hey, oh*

*Hey*

*I want to come over*

-[cheering and applause -[playing outro]

[song ends]

[soft guitar playing]

MELISSA: This is a town in Kansas.

Kansas, Midwest, that proudly has a sign up

that says "Hometown of Melissa Etheridge,"

who, you know,

broke a lot of the rules

of maybe what everyone thought a girl from a small town

should be.

So, I don't know, that says a lot about this town, I think.

And this is the high school right up here.

[laughing] Who's got crazy hair?

Yeah, this is my dad right here.

Look at that.

Regional tournament, first place,

class 2-A, AA, 1968.

Coach John Etheridge.

Dad was important.

If it wasn't for him, I would not have played these places.

I wouldn't have gone to play in the bars and stuff.

I could have never done that without him.

And he didn't drink or anything,

so he, you know, would have a Coca Cola

and sit there while I played, and he...

he never said, "Oh, you have to go do this."

He just allowed it.

He supported it but never pushed it ever.

It was all my... I want to do this, I want to do that.

And he saw that I could sing

and had kind of a special talent,

so he was proud of it,

and he was just a really wonderful person, you know?

I... only have great memories of him.

My mother was different, and it was that sort of contrast

that I got from both of them that...

that messed me up just enough

but gave me enough hope to go out to the world

and do what I wanted to do and write about it.

LEIGH: Yeah, I grew up in Leavenworth too.

-Oh... -And I went

-to West Middle School. -Did you graduate?

Yeah, I graduated in 2005.

-In 2005? -Yeah.

I was long gone by then, yeah.

Yeah, so the librarian

-at West Middle School? -Aww.

She had, like, a PowerPoint presentation

with all your yearbook pictures

-and stuff. -No, no-no-no!

Every year she showed it, yeah.

So, she'd bring it around to the classes and stuff.

[rock and roll playing]

LEIGH: I haven't really believed in myself

my whole life.

Like, I wanted to be a singer when I was a little kid.

That was, like, the dream.

And then at some point, my dad actually told me

that a career in music is not realistic,

and you need to pick something else.

You're not gonna be able to do it, basically.

And I believed him. I don't know,

I just kind of just let go of the music thing,

You know, but that kind of always, like, hurt me.

Sometimes just listening to a song

can move me to tears.

But when I watch people perform...

I get so emotional, like, no matter what the song is,

no matter who it is singing,

no matter what it's about, like, I don't--

really, I don't know why, but it's, like,

almost like a hurt feeling.

You know, and I kind of held on to that

for a really long time.

*There was a wave*

*Over the house*

*There was fear choked in my mouth*

*You were there*

*You left your mark*

*As I stumbled*

*In the dark*

*There comes a time*

*We all know*

*There's a place that*

*We must go*

*Into the soul, into the heart*

*Into the dark*

*There comes a time

*We all know*

*There's a place that*

*We must go*

*Into the soul, into the heart*

*Into the dark*

***

[cheering and screaming]

***

***

[cheering and screaming]

[music fades]

MELISSA: God, I've been working on this

for weeks and weeks.

And the thing is, I will not have

performed this for anyone until I sing it for them...

at the concert.

After visiting the facility,

I realized how much everyone there is--

is working toward getting these people back out

and functioning in society.

You know, getting these women back to...

you know, a life.

This is about redemption.

This is about...

empowerment, finding yourself.

But then I didn't want to write some...

"Oh, I'm a strong woman."

you know, I didn't-- you know, "I am woman,

hear me roar," I didn't want to do that either.

And so I thought, what can-- what's--

to me, what's one of the most empowering things?

And that's-- that's when...

I can get an audience, you know,

to call and response, where I can sing something,

and then they'll repeat it, and it just brings everybody up.

-So-- -And do they know

that this is the song? This is the song.

Oh, I'm gonna say-- I'm gonna say--

"I...

visited you, I saw you,

I thought about you...

and I created this."

-This is pretty intimate. -Yeah, yeah, it is.

You know, sitting here, just playing it

is going to be very different than

having the full band behind me,

and what I really envision,

and it's all mixed up on here, so I might get lost

because, you know, I've got arrows...

going from here to there, because... and I put myself

in a first person,

like, I am you, I am them.

And...

I hope that works.

Okay. Are you sure you're ready?

-I'm ready. -Okay.

***

[sighing]

*Well, I took the pain*

*Turned it into rage*

*I could never kill the truth*

*Pumping in my veins*

*I could never find*

*A way out of my mind*

*I had a whole lot of time*

*Thought about it every day*

*Might have fucked things up*

*But I can break the chains*

*Everyone who hurt me*

*And every time I hurt myself*

*And I don't wanna hurt no more*

*I'm not gonna hurt no more*

*I'm a burning woman*

*I might be on fire*

*But I'm not broken*

*I'm not broken

*I'm a burning woman

*I believe in my desire*

*And I am worth it*

*Baby, I'm worth it

And I'm going to talk to 'em...

and sing, you know?

*I'm a burning woman I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a... you know?

But I have no idea how much they will...

they will...

-Yeah? -Yes.

[sighing] God.

I just-- every word means so much.

I want every word to be absolutely...

ring true, you know?

That's my hope, yes.

[laughing]

[up-tempo rock]

***

***

***

Yes, absolutely--

***

MELISSA: *Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah!*

*Oh!*

*Somebody bring me some water*

*Can't you see I'm burning alive?*

*Can't you see my baby's got another lover?*

*And I don't know how I'm gonna survive*

*Somebody bring me some water*

*Can't you see it's out of control?*

*Baby's got my heart*

*Baby's got my mind*

*But tonight, the sweet devil*

*The sweet devil's got my*

*Soul*

***

*Baby's got my heart, and my baby's got my mind*

*But tonight, the sweet devil*

*The sweet devil's got my*

*Soul*

[cheering and applause]

[playing outro]

[song ends]

MELISSA: I'm aware that Beckett wasn't unusual.

That there is a percentage of people in this world

who...

find it hard...

to navigate the normal avenues

of society.

When he got kicked out of school,

and I put him in kind of-- at a private school,

kind of a one-on-one tutoring,

that's when he meets the other kids

that are having trouble,

and of course, they have drugs.

And once he found, like, cocaine or these other things,

I don't really even know.

I instantly put him in, like,

wilderness things, which he loved.

And he would never admit he loved them,

but he did really well.

And his one love, the thing he loved to do,

the thing that he would line up to was snowboarding.

He went up to...

Mount Hood Snowboard Camp...

and met, like, these professional snowboarders

from Aspen, and they were like, "Dude, you've got the talent.

Come train with us."

And so he started training with them.

Took a big jump,

landed on his head, and...

broke his ankle in a couple places.

And I wasn't there.

And...

the doctor...

you know, gave him Vicodin for the pain.

And it just...

that started that road.

He just really started taking the pills for the pain.

He didn't have a dream anymore.

He got really thin, it was...

I realized it was going into heroin,

you know, because you kind of--

you-- you do the pills until they don't give you

the pills anymore, then you do the street pills,

and then the street pills are expensive,

but heroin isn't as expensive.

And, you know, he--

he would steal money from me. He would do that.

I would kick him out, I would, you know--

as a parent, you...

when you have someone who's using and addicted,

you don't know, you don't know whether,

okay, if I give you this, if I put you in

a really great place and maybe help you up,

and, you know, get you... you know, a life,

a life...

maybe you'll... you know?

He would get sober two or three or four times.

You know, he went through it, came off it, was clean.

And... And he just couldn't...

he couldn't do adult life. He couldn't do it.

I was addicted. I'm addicted to meth.

And it just... it destroys you.

It really does, and...

No matter how much you want something different,

it's hard to stop it once you get started.

I was doing really good until they said,

"Your rights are terminated for not being able to show up

at court," and as soon as they said

I can't have my kids no more...

I just roller coaster'd downhill so hard and so fast.

JESSICA: Addicts-- throwing them in jail

is not going to change their way of thinking.

It's not going to change their mind, really.

It's just going to pause it.

Because, when you're in jail, it pauses you

from-- from the outside world

instead of letting the outside world in with it.

KRISTI: I think about it here, now, every day.

If somebody handed it to me, I think I would do it.

It's like, why would you not have a drug problem?

That's your therapy.

It's... climbs up in your brain,

and it just fingers its way...

to every part of who you are,

till you become your addiction.

LEIGH: I think it's detrimental

to every aspect of your life.

Not just your money situation,

but, like, your integrity

goes... out the window.

It brings to the forefront pieces of your personality

that would never be there otherwise.

You know? It, like, darkens your whole...

existence.

Like, I started smoking weed when I was, like, 13,

and it kind of just snowballed from there.

And it was never, like, any peer pressure situation.

I just wanted to know what other things felt like.

So I tried everything.

And, like, if I stopped doing one thing,

I just traded it for another thing.

It was like, "Oh, well, I quit doing cocaine,"

but I was, like, doing ecstasy all the time after that.

I got pregnant with my daughter.

And I lost her, she...

she died, like, ten minutes before I had her,

and none of the doctors knew why or anything.

I was, like, 19 when I had her.

That, I just...

numbed that, I didn't really deal with it.

I numbed it with pills and alcohol and whatever.

There's been a lot of super-intense feelings.

About one thing or another, like,

for as long as I can remember

In the last couple of years, it's all just come to a head.

Like, I grew up here... you know?

Like, I was an adult when I got arrested,

like, legally, but...

I didn't grow up until after I'd been here.

You know?

[music fading in]

-[cheering] -A very short breeze.

Thank you. What-- oh!

Yeah. Thank you.

Remind me it's fucking A.

It's not in E, it's in A. Remind me.

Go, "Melissa, it's in A."

Because I just really--

I mean, I'll turn around and look at you.

So, tell me, because that's--

thank you.

She just said that she wrote a new song,

and she wants to work through it.

She sent us, like, a...

like, a voice memo of her playing it.

We kind of came up with some ideas at home

and then got together in a room and just

worked it out; within probably a half hour, we had it.

Well, today is what, Sunday?

That was on Friday.

So, three days ago, yeah.

Okay, so you'll-- you'll start

a little-- a little beat, right?

-[drumbeat] -Yeah.

And I'll do a whole lot of talking here.

[whispering] And then if I...

[guitar strumming]

I'm-- I'm really excited. I'm a little nervous.

-Why? -Well, because

it really is different, and I don't know

what to expect, all right? So, it's-- it's a cool thing.

-We are so excited. -Super-excited.

-Yeah, I'm stoked. -Oh, so know that,

when you hear this song tomorrow,

that you all are in that song.

And, yeah... really.

-And we're all gonna cry. -[laughter]

MELISSA: After reading your stories,

the things that really hit my heart

and opened me up was...

we're not different.

I want the person watching this to go,

"Oh, my God, that reminds me of my sister.

That's my, you know, this is...

oh, my mother, my..."

you know, whatever it might be.

You know, so there's more understanding

the whole-- the whole...

the system of, you know... incarceration and stuff.

[sighing] Okay.

-[laughter] -You're doing amazing.

-I love it. -Oh, thank you.

-You're doing a great job. -We appreciate it.

The WALC Office here is, like, the lady who deals with

all the kids and their visits.

DANI ESSMAN: The Women's Activity Learning Center is

what this program is called.

It is in place so that all of our moms

and grandmas that have kids that are 18 and under

can still have a functioning relationship

and bond with their kids when they come here.

My kids are in North Carolina, so obviously they can't

just drive here and see me.

So I get video visits with them once a month.

They have the GTL, which is the tablets,

so we can text back and forth, and they can send me pictures.

They send me pictures in the mail.

I have a little boy. He'll be 13 in October.

His name is Jaden, and he's awesome.

He's just the coolest kid, and he's, like, my biggest fan.

Still.

There's different rooms that are themed.

There's a Winnie the Pooh room that you can play in.

There's like a "Jungle Book" room

you can play in with your kids and stuff.

And they come, and we just get snacks

and play games and hang out.

A lot of the women here lose their parental rights,

and it's more so because of their time.

The courts tend to use prison as a reason for the termination,

instead of seeing that the women are here

and they're sober and they're trying,

and that maybe they can leave here

a better parent than they came in.

A lot of the ladies lose their identity

as being a mother when they come here

because they just become an inmate or a resident.

But they're moms.

I love the mom room. I really do.

It's amazing how a child can

put that smile on your face and just

the love that they show you

and the love that you feel for them.

And to not have that...

is the worst feeling in the world.

It makes you lose your mind, like,

you feel like you're worthless

all of a sudden, like you have

no reason for existence because...

when they take that from you, and that's

all that you live for,

it feels like you have nothing else left.

It's that feeling like any mom has.

Like, when I wake up in the morning...

I want to be the one making them breakfast.

I want to be the one getting them ready for school.

I was around my kids every day of their lives

before I left, so...

I just don't want to, like, lose that connection with them.

I don't want them to feel, like, less than,

like they're not as loved or that I'm not there,

because I am, I mean, I--

I'm very lucky in the sense that

I do get to call home every day

and tell them that,

but just seeing their faces

and...

just seeing them in general just was

so different from just talking on the phone.

MELISSA: Last time I...

saw him, he had FaceTimed me,

and he had put the...

computer on his bed, and he was in...

such a great deal of pain.

And he was...

he was just writhing, and it was...

it was... I think

he was trying to get off the Fentanyl.

And I finally...

his other mother and I,

we called the police,

and they came in, and...

unless they're saying they're gonna be

a harm to themselves or somebody else,

they can't do anything. They don't do anything.

They just said, "Well, he's out of it,

but he's alive,"

and that was all we could get them to do.

And so then I didn't hear from him.

And I didn't hear from him for two days.

And then we called and got another...

wellness check, a welfare check,

where the police came and said he was dead.

We all gathered together as a family and...

wept and mourned and...

you know, had that.

And the next morning,

as I was waking up...

I used to always look at my phone...

and he would have texted me or something,

you know, in the middle of the night or something.

He was always... and so, in my dream state...

I looked at my... I looked at my phone

in my dream.

It was from Beckett,

and it said, "No pain."

I understand the loss.

I see it every day

when he's not here, when... when our family

gets together around the table, there's the loss.

The loss is, he's not there.

I felt the grief. I think grief is a temporary emotion

that lets us know just how wonderful

things were.

So, yes, I have grieved.

Yes, I feel loss. I do not let it take me

out of that natural state

of well-being.

Why? Why would I? It would make me sick.

It would take me away from other members of my family.

No, that makes no sense. I want to show my family

that...

You can have something like this happen to you,

and you can understand.

Well, maybe you don't understand.

You can accept

a person's choices in their lives,

and it doesn't have to devastate you.

If I can teach that to my children,

I think I've done them a service.

MELISSA: When I met with some...

about five of these wonderful residents,

they wrote me a lot of letters.

I got to know them through the letters.

You are...

You are amazing women.

I wrote you all a song.

-[cheering and applause] -Yes, I did.

I have never played this song for anyone but you.

-[cheering and applause] -[drumbeat starts]

Now, this song is about...

well, it's about that fire that I see inside of all of you.

The...

the drive you have to change,

the drive you have to show everyone

what you can do,

who you are, what you feel.

And you've shown me that you are what I call a burning woman.

You've got a fire inside.

Yeah, you got that fire inside

and I know maybe that fire might have led you

to make some choices that might have taken you

down some intense roads.

But that fire, you can take that fire,

and you can make that fire work for you.

So I called this song

"A Burning Woman," because you are.

That's good. That's a good thing.

You got that fire.

And I'm a little nervous because this is the world premiere.

[cheering and applause]

And I give it to you, my friends.

This... you have inspired me.

And I hope you find a little bit of yourselves

in this song...

because I've taken you on

and tried to see through your eyes

and feel in your heart, okay?

So here you go.

Here's "A Burning Woman." All right?

[up-tempo rock melody]

I'm so excited.

*I took the pain, turned it into rage*

*I could never kill the truth*

*Pumping in my veins*

*I could never find*

*A way out of my mind*

*I've had a whole lot of time*

*Thought about it every day*

*I might have fucked things up*

*But I can break the chain*

*Of everyone who hurt me*

*And every time I hurt myself*

*And I don't wanna hurt*

*No more*

*I'm not gonna hurt*

*No more*

*Because I'm a burning woman*

[cheering and screaming]

*I'm a burning woman*

*I'm not broken*

*I'm not broken*

*I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman

*And I am worth it*

*Oh, baby, I'm worth it*

*Oh, there's nothing to fix*

*I ain't got nothing to cure*

*I might not know much but I know for sure*

*Hurt people*

*Hurt people*

*And I don't wanna hurt*

*No more*

*'Cause I'm a burning woman*

-[cheering] -*I'm a burning woman*

*And I'm not broken*

*I'm not broken*

*I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman

*And I am worth it*

*Oh, baby, I'm worth it*

[instrumental break]

*Ahh...*

This is where you come in.

You got to help me now. All right?

All right? All right.

It goes like this. You just repeat after me, okay?

*I'm a burning woman

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm not broken*

ALL: *I'm not broken*

*I'm not broken*

ALL: *I'm not broken*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*And I'm worth it*

-ALL: *And I'm worth it -*Hey!*

*I'm worth it*

ALL: *I'm worth it*

-Whoo-hoo! -[cheering and applause]

All right, we're gonna take it up another level.

-Are you ready? -[scattered shouts]

*I might have fucked things up*

ALL: *I might have fucked things up*

*I might have fucked things up*

ALL: *I might have fucked things up*

*I might have fucked things up*

ALL: *I might have fucked things up*

Oh, damn, that's fun.

Yeah? We're gonna do it again.

-[cheering] -[laughing] Nah,

we're gonna do it again 'cause that was so much fun.

Okay. I've dreamed of that.

Warden, I thought about you when I wrote this song.

You said I could do anything I wanted.

-[cheering and shouts] -[laughing]

I want you to feel it now.

I want you to feel it. I want you to know it.

I want you to sing with me.

Okay, here we go.

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm not broken*

ALL: *I'm not broken*

*I'm not broken*

ALL: *I'm not broken*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I am worth it*

ALL: *I am worth it*

*I am worth it*

ALL: *I am worth it*

*I might have fucked things up*

ALL: *I might have fucked things up*

*I might have fucked things up*

ALL: *I might have fucked things up*

*I might have fucked things up*

ALL: *I might have fucked things up*

*But I can break the chain*

-ALL: *Break the chain -*A burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman*

*I'm not broken*

*I'm not broken*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*I'm a burning woman*

ALL: *I'm a burning woman*

*And I'm worth it*

ALL: *And I'm worth it*

*I am worth it*

ALL: *I am worth it*

[crowd cheering]

***

[playing outro]

[cheering and applause]

[song ends]

[cheering and applause]

-We love you, Melissa! -I love you.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

My first concert ever. Thanks, Melissa.

You did a badass job.

-We love you! -We love you, Melissa.

Thank you.

Did my wife get-- oh, there she is, okay.

And then it's done. And then it's all over.

-Hey, Jermaine. -Thanks for the opportunity.

-Oh, yeah. -Appreciate you. Love you.

-I love you so much. -Have a good one.

***

I'm exhausted, but I think they are, too.

I think they're all gonna sleep well tonight

and have a good day tomorrow.

How about them all singing with you

-on "Burning Woman"? -Okay, that song,

-I felt the whole-- -Oh, it--

--group of them came together

because I think they understood that...

-Yes, yes. -...this was for them.

It landed exactly where I wanted it to.

-Yeah, yeah. -It really...

it really... God, it resonated.

And the women in front, the ones,

the five that I spoke to,

they really took that to heart.

Right before I went on,

I was so overcome.

It was like, I... you know,

all of a sudden, I start-- you know, tears came.

I... you know, I'm not a very tearful person very often.

And it was like

the release of years and years and years.

Oh, y'all.

-Now leave me alone. -[laughter]

***

***

LEIGH: I felt seen.

And being in prison,

you feel like you're forgotten about a lot.

You know, you kind of feel like

what you want or what you think

or that your feelings don't really matter.

So, it was just really... moving.

You know, a lot of people say they care,

but we don't see that, you know?

So, it's kind of rough sometimes.

So we were just, like, really grateful.

That she gave a shit.

You know? It means a lot, really.

JESSICA: Like, I feel like I got a new addiction from it

because I just-- I wanted to cry,

I wanted to laugh. I couldn't stop smiling

the whole entire time.

And today, I just-- I feel happy.

I don't even think about using or want to do anything else.

It felt like the whole world to me

because I don't have that positivity

in my life, really.

So, I think it helped me a lot in here.

INTERVIEWER: Where are you at right now?

What's on your horizon right now?

I want to shoot for work release.

I want to do...

I'm supposed to... [chuckle]

I want to say it, but I don't want to cry.

But...

[sigh]

My victim's family is...

trying to reach out and set up a visit,

so I'm excited. I think that's gonna be,

like the beginning of...

something crazy, amazing.

And I hope that we go out, and we, like...

help be a part of the change in the world, so...

yeah.

I just hope that I'm prepared.

And I hope that it goes

the way it's supposed to.

So, yeah.

I do know that this is my last trip.

I'm not doing this no more.

Like, it just feels more inspiring.

Like, gives me more hope to...

that there is something better out there.

And that, you know, like, we always think that

we're felons, and we can't

get back to real life, and we can.

KRISTI: The favorite concert of mine was always Ozzy.

And she beat him out. Absolutely beat him out.

I don't know how to explain it.

It... was sobering.

She's the same as we are.

And this is the first time

that I felt free since I've been here.

And I felt absolutely and utterly free.

Like I was not where I was.

I love that.

I think that this is the one thing

in my life that is gonna be great and huge.

And I'm okay with that.

I'm okay with that.

[soft music playing]

***