"As I Am" lyrics

If I've disappointed you
You'll have to understand
Not all life can fall in line
According to your plan

I came to you like many do
Hoping to be cured
To end what gods of men condemned
Nathaniel to endure

I've always wondered what it's like
To live the way you do
Gave my life to slave and strive
To walk life in your shoes

I've always tried to satisfy
The picture you have drawn
But by and by I realized
I wasn't born to sing your song

Say goodbye to following your rules
Time that I stopped playing your damn fool
No more wasted days tryin' to obey
While letting life slip by
I demand a second chance
To live as I am

I've seen firsthand how you brand
The virtues of a man
You hide behind your refined
Righteous sterling sham

You blindly lie and treat your wives
Like pilfered property
You weigh, inspect, degrade, reject
And call it masculinity

Say goodbye
To the life you want for me
It's my time
I can't be and not be free
All the wasted time
The uphill climb
The hell that I withstood
I'll take what's mine
It's not a crime
To live as I am

I've come to realize
You're prisoners in a show
Afraid of who you'll find
Beneath your fitted clothes

You can take the gloves
Take the hair
Take the dress
I don't care
Every fiber of my soul
Defies your rigid roles

Say goodbye
I will be and I'll be me
Won't deny
Myself my destiny
Belle dame was with you all along
She found her voice
She found her song
Now it's time to take a stand
And live
As I am!