Doris Duke - Woman of the Ghetto [Original UK 12 Mix]

I was born and raised in the ghetto
I was born and raised in the ghetto
I'm a woman of the ghetto
Listen to me, legislator

How do you raise your kids in the ghetto?
How do you raise your kids in the ghetto?
Feed one child and starve another?
Tell me, tell me, legislator

How do you make your bread in the ghetto?
How do you make your bread in the ghetto?
Rwach from the souls of the dead in the ghetto
Tell me, tell me, legislator

How do we get rid of rats in the ghetto?
How do we get rid of rats in the ghetto?
Do we make one black and one white in the ghetto?
Is that your answer, legislator?

Now how do you legislate? Brother, listen to me
How do you legislate, brother?
When you free one man, try to chain up the other
Tell me, tell me, legislator

How does your heart feel late at night?
How does your heart feel late at night?
Does it beat the same?
Does is feed the fight?
Won't you tell me, tell me, legislator?

Great, free, black me, yeah
I am a woman of the ghetto
Strong too, my eyes ain't blue
Listen to me, legislator

My children learned just the same as yours
Long as nobody tries to close the doors
They cry with pain when the knife cuts deep
They'll close their eyes when they wanna sleep

We must all have our dignity
That's the only way that we can be free
Now peace, you say, is all that you ask
But self-respect is our separate tax
You're sitting up there in your ivory tower
Sixty stories tall
Now you may have seen just one ghetto
But have you lived there at all?

Places like
Watts
Detroit
Filmore
Chicago
Oh, Harlem
And Washington
Sing out voices
Sing out
Sing out for me
If you wanna be free
Sing out, people

Great, free, black me
For I am a woman of the ghetto
Sing out, "I wanna be free"
Sing it out for me
Help yourself
Respect yourself
Do it for yourself, now
If you wanna be free
Strong
Our truth, people
The only my thing, my eyes ain't blue
Listen to me
Listen to me
Let me sing out
Listen to me
My children are the same as yours
Don't want nobody closing doors
Oh, pain, oh when the knife cuts deep
I close my eyes when I wanna sleep

We
We must
All hail identity
That's the only way
We can be free
Now peace, you say, is all you ask
Give yourself some self-respect, yeah
Sitting up there, you don't know how it is
Sixty stories tall
You may have seen one ghetto, legislator
But you haven't seen 'em all

I'm a woman of the ghetto
Big black woman of the ghetto

Written by:
Marlena Shaw, R E Miller, Richard Lee Evans

Publisher:
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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