Woman Of The Ghetto (Live From The Montreux Jazz Festival,Switzerland1973)

(ging, gi-gi-gi-gi-ging...)
(la-la-la-la-la-la-la, ...)
I was born, raised in a ghetto
I was born and raised in a ghetto, a haha
Im a woman, of the ghetto
Wont you listen, wont you listen to me, legislator
(ging, gi-gi-gi-gi -ging...)
How do you raise your kids in a ghetto
How do you raise your kids in a ghetto
Do you feed one child and starve another
Wont you tell me, legislator
Enthralled through
I know that my eyes aint blue
But you see Im a woman
Of the ghetto
Im proud, free,
Black that is me
Yeah Im a woman of the ghetto
(ging, gi-gi-gi-gi-ging...)
How does your heart feel late at night
How does your heart feel late at night
Does it beat with shame, a haha
And does it beat with pride
Wont you tell me, tell me, legislator
(na-na-na-na-na-na-na, ...)
ging, a haha
ging
Puts me in the mind of
come and cross the water
In a boat a ha
Chained, tied, together
They said, no, no, theyre really not man, and women
just chain em up, tie em up, chain em up, tie em up
chain em up, tie em up, work, work, work
Theres where the movement came from
Say no, no
My children learned just the same as yours
As long as nobody tries to close the door
They cry with pain when the knife cuts deep
They even close their eyes when they wanna sleep
Now peace, you say
is all that you ask
But self-respect is a separate task
You maybe sitting up there
in your ivory tower
60 stories tall
I know that you may have checked out at least one ghetto
But I wonder have you lived there at all
Places like Watts ,
ah, Holland, tell me
Chicago, ah tell me
Washington got some too
I have been up on the mountains, I
And Im free at last
I say Im free at last
Ive seen
The children dying
And Ive been one of the mothers who was crying
(ging, gi-gi-gi-gi-ging...)
I am a woman
I am a woman
I am a woman, yes I
I said that I am
I mean that I am
Im the woman
Im the woman
Im the woman of the ghetto
Strong, true,
A woman
A woman
You can walk through the streets of the ghetto at night
Whole lotta pretty
some ugly sites
Along comes the sleek limousine
Say hey baby I got ten
Look at me, Im clean
So she takes a little ****
What the hell everybody got to go
I got a baby
I got a baby
I got a baby i want to feed and Im not really giving it all
up, just a little ten-cent piece or two
Ah, the black woman
But I aint gonna raise your babies no more
I got a few on my own
I wanna keep strolling
I say I am a woman
gi-gi-gi- gi-ging, I am
I
I am
I am
Remember me
Im the one who had your babies, I
gi-gi-gi-gi-ging, I am
I am
I am a woman
Of the ghetto
Woman,
Im a woman, yeah yeah yeah
Just a woman