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He said, "You've gotten tough"
'Cause my tone was curt.
Yeah and when I'm approached in a dark alley,
I don't lift my skirt.
In the city, self-preservation is a full time occupation.
I'm determined to survive on this shore.
You know I don't avert my eyes anymore.
In a man's world, I am a woman by birth.
And after nineteen times around,
I have found they will stop what you are worth.
Talk to me now.
I played the powerless in too many dark scenes,
And I was blessed with a birth and a death,
And I guess I just wanted some say in between.
Don't you understand?
In the day to day and the face to face,
I have to act just as strong as I can
Just to preserve a place where I can be who I am.
'Cause my tone was curt.
Yeah and when I'm approached in a dark alley,
I don't lift my skirt.
In the city, self-preservation is a full time occupation.
I'm determined to survive on this shore.
You know I don't avert my eyes anymore.
In a man's world, I am a woman by birth.
And after nineteen times around,
I have found they will stop what you are worth.
Talk to me now.
I played the powerless in too many dark scenes,
And I was blessed with a birth and a death,
And I guess I just wanted some say in between.
Don't you understand?
In the day to day and the face to face,
I have to act just as strong as I can
Just to preserve a place where I can be who I am.
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If your tone is curt sometimes, if you wont "lift your skirt" for some guy, you get called "tough" (or unfeminine or whatever). Ani describes how she is the way she is because for a woman to survive, requires defence mechanisms. There are some references to how women's options are limited (she just wants "some say in between").
I echo the sentiments of masked sarah :)
If your tone is curt sometimes, if you wont "lift your skirt" for some guy, you get called "tough" (or unfeminine or whatever). Ani describes how she is the way she is because for a woman to survive, requires defence mechanisms. There are some references to how women's options are limited (she just wants "some say in between").
I echo the sentiments of masked sarah :)
oh, and yeah...it's fantastically beautiful.