Somethin' I've Gotta Say

(album: Ithaca - 2010)

I lost but I did not lose the lesson,
No, I was so lonely there at the top of my mountain,
And I can be the Joan of Arc of courage,
But with one touch of lust I crumbled in his arms.

Maybe I don't understand what it takes to make it last,
It doesn't help when little girls are pushed too far and too damned fast,
They grow up to be the woman dancing in a cage,
And learning too late the acquiescing turns to rage.

There's something I've gotta say,
Something I've gotta say,
Something I've gotta say,
Something I've gotta say.

What I love is also what I hate.
This music kills me then forces me to stand up straight,
So don't confuse positivity for naïveté,
The great ones walked through hell to become that way.

And oh my God the tests get harder,
My love and I are torn apart,
Why do I feel I must choose between my music and my heart,

Futile pressure running on this hamster wheel,
I will walk down the path of motherhood I feel.

There's something I've gotta say,
Something I've gotta say,
Something I've gotta say, say, say, say.

All my life I strove to be the first one in my family to achieve,
Grab a hold of that brass ring,
But money's so empty, the road will leave you lonelier than lonely, I'm sorry,
I learned my lesson late in life and love, forgive me.

There's something I've gotta say,
Something I've gotta say,
There's something I've gotta say, in my life, in my time, talking about it.
There's something I've gotta say, say, say, say and today's gonna be my day.