You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own backyard. Out of the huts of history's shameI rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs?