Singer-songwriter Jewel got her start on the pop charts a dozen years ago, fashioning such hits as "Who Will Save Your Soul," "You Were Meant For Me" and "Foolish Games." Of late, she's revised her career a bit, landing a country hit with "Stronger Woman," a song she co-produced with Big & Rich founder John Rich.

Jewel, now 33, actually wrote the song when she was just 18, and it builds its message on the belief that men and women have to approach adulthood in different ways.

"I wrote this song not to be a guy-bashing song at all," she told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "This, to me, is just about women saying, 'There's more to me than I give my own self credit for, and if I want a certain kind of life, and I want a certain kind of happiness, it's up to me to get it.' For women, it's hard sometimes, because I think men are raised to feel like they know they're gonna be on their own and they know they're gonna make a living in the world and it's their way and they've gotta find it."

Women, she says, often have conflicting voices that suggest maybe a man will take care of them. In many cases, females frequently discover as they age that they never quite fulfilled their dreams, and she suggests that leads to a lot of bitterness.

"I've seen it happen a million times," she said. "So I wanted to write it to remind myself and everybody and any father that has a daughter, to raise a woman to be a strong woman. And men should like it, 'cause we're less naggy that way anyway!"

"Stronger Woman" appears on Jewel's new album, Perfectly Clear, which arrives in stores June 3. Eight days after that, she'll head out on Brad Paisley's next tour, the Paisley Party 2008. Also slated for those dates are Chuck Wicks and "Dancing With The Stars" participant Julianne Hough.