I, Black Woman
by Faith Nolan

I Black woman can barely dance
I'd rather read a book than jive and prance
I hate wild parties and cheap romance
I'm a woman on my own, taking my own stance.

Don't call me brown sugar or sweet time gal
Talk like that don't give my heart a whirl
I am not hot in bed, it ain't my scene
I am not part of your make-believe schemes.

I've seen mama beaten up by strange men
sisters on the street turning tricks for them
brothers out pimping and talking jive
I saw daddy die drunk, couldn't make this life.

Don't call me your mama, your sister, your girl,
Don't call me anything in your fantasy world.
I ain't voo doo queen, an African dream
I'm my own woman with my own damn scene.

From the album Freedom to Love by Faith Nolan. Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society. Used by permission.

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