I'm walking into the unknown, into uncharted territory
And I know there are people out there who don't agree with me
'Cause I sing about who I am
And it's a shame that that's so hard for them
But I've been puttin' in time, dreamin'
And I got something different in mind
I just hope that I'm not ahead of my time
You see, I wanna burst these floodgates open on this solace river
And I'm a pretty good swimmer
But I've been swimming upstream for far too long, yeah
And I'm not into politics, and the guys in office who mouth off
'Cause as far as I'm concerned there ain't much else happening there
And I must admit, I pretended to care so people would think I was smart
When it's women and music and the earth and art that moves me
And I'm political just by loving who I love
By being who I am, you see, it's an act of rebellion
So I guess that makes me one hell of a rebellious political
Singer, song-writing, earth-loving woman-identified woman
And I know people are either going to love me or hate me
But that's the way it is in the biz, and in the world too
And I've heard guys at the top of the food chain
Talking about what I shouldn't sing about
And they're talking about what they think about me
And I've heard women say "She's great but that song's kinda angry
And why does she have to keep on singing about her sexuality?"
Well it's a little more interesting to me than what I'm seeing on TV
And what I'm hearing on the top 40 radio, yeah
See I'm a woman who has survived a lifetime of violence and lies
At the hands of my family and the patriarchy and it nearly killed me
And silence was my only friend, until now
And now my guitar and my pen and my voice are my companions
And where these songs come from sometimes or how, I don't know
'Cause I'm singing words I wrote years ago
And they're just starting to make sense to me now
And there are parts of me that have to die
So that I can make room for becoming more alive
And I have wished that if I cried enough
My tears will subside and this fear in me will disappear
And I have looked in the mirror hoping to see someone else
Hoping these lines on my face will have been erased
And I finally reached the place where I won't erase myself
And I won't let anyone else, no, no
So I wanna see my name in lights and have people lined up down the street
And I wanna fill every seat in the house
And I wanna be backed by an orchestra
With standing room only at the door, yeah
So who cares if I'm a lesbian, I didn't mean for it to happen
I think I just caught it while standing in line at the bank the other day
So let's make a deal here
You don't make like you're straight in front of me
And I won't rub it in your face that I'm queer
So in case you haven't got it yet, I got something to say
And it's my time to say it
And I'm not acquiescent, and I'm done with being complacent
So consider yourself warned
Because I'm just warming up
And when people who live 3000 miles away tell me
That my music makes her day and my words make their heart sing
Well I know in my soul I'm doing the right thing
Yeah, yeah, yeah