"I Am Who I Am" lyrics

Perhaps I'll never show this world all I could be
I just can't sing to any man the song he wants to hear
And I know that some won't like me
Others try to be my friend
But I'm all of me, and that's all that I am

And if life is for the living
Then why can't men be real
'Stead of hidin' in their costumes
Forgettin' how to feel, forgettin' how to feel

We still live in a time when manners cover what is real
There's a basic fact of life that the times cannot conceal
That if some are masqueraders
Others live in their facade
But I'm what I am
I cannot be what I am not

And if life is for the living
Then why can't men be real
'Stead of hidin' in their costumes
Forgettin' how to feel, forgettin' how to feel

I may be too honest and offend those who pretend
I don't claim I'm always right, that I'm ev'rybody's friend
Perhaps for them it's easier to be what they are not
But I'm what I am, and I just can't play that part

And if life is for the living
Then why can't men be real
'Stead of hidin' in their costumes
Forgettin' how to feel, forgettin' how to feel