I Can't Be A Black Woman To You

I can't be a black woman to you
Or a good old boy from Tennessee
No, I can't be a black woman to you
Baby, I can only be me

I can't be a Sioux or an Eskimo
Or a man of mystery
I can't be someone you don't know
Baby, I can only be me

My story isn't so exotic
But, oh my love, I'm your neurotic
Even if I'm no aquatic
Frogman from the sea

And I may, by way of answer,
Point out you're no avant dancer
You won't find the cure for cancer
That's all right with me

So if you want to test my mettle
Light a fire beneath my kettle
Watch me walk when you say "settle"
Baby, don't settle for me

'cause fuck those Geishas from Taiwan
Those single-breasted Amazons
They'll look for me and I'll be gone
You're the girl for me

No outdoorsy Oregonians
Understanding Island Conians
They're extinct like Babylonians
On the banks of the Euphrates (you-fray-tees)

But I can't be a black woman to you
Just un petite bourgeoisie
Sorry, darlin', I'm a liberal Jew
Baby, I can only be me

I'm a shut-in who's obsessed with movies
Playin' 'round with poetry
Even if I think that, girl, you're so groovy
And I'm the man who loves ya, ya see

That I can't be a black woman to you
Or a muscular M.D.
I wasn't born with wings or gills
Or far across the sea
In some distant jungle village
Where they still spray DDT
And I can't, single-handed,
Make this the land we want it to be
No, I don't know how you stand it, girl,
But baby I can only be me
No, I can't be a black woman, girl,
Baby, I can only be me.