Lyrics I See What I Am - Patti LuPone

I See What I Am

Because a man cries, «I am what I see.»
A woman sighs, «What you see is me.»
But Mary says, «Goddamn!
I see what I am.»
At the beginning of time, there was no God
There was just a lonely woman whose life felt flawed
It was the birth of the blues, she hatched a plan
She said to herself, «I'mma make me a man.»
She huffed and puffed and reached deep within
She birthed a man-child who was ugly as sin
She wrapped his face up in a cloud
As if he were maimed when in fact he was proud
Because a man cries, «I am what I see.»
A woman sighs, «What you see is me.»
But Mary says, «Goddamn!
I see what I am.»
Now that’s how God came to insist
That nobody else really exists
He made a mirror he called Mankind
Held it up to his face then he wished he was blind
He flung Mankind away in disgust
It shattered into pieces of us
But Mary swept us up so fast
You know she gave us the earth, you know she blew us like glass
Because a man cries, «I am what I see.»
A woman sighs, «What you see is me.»
But Mary says, «Goddamn
I see what I motherfucking am!»
Mary had a little lamb
And that’s when the shit hit the fan
Now did she regret it, goddamn
Talk about the best laid plans
Did she regret it, goddamn
Now the Virgin’s on the lam
Doodly-doo, doodly-da-dow
Doodly-doo
Doodly-doo, doodly-doo-doo-doo-doo
Turns out he was just a man
And still we fear our Daddy’s blame
Our broken faces reflected shame
We drown in drink, we spike our veins
We gorge on vengeance to purge the pain
From fix to fix, I hop across the river
Just a single arrow in my quiver
I shelter within my future corpse
My body blackens, I scream til I’m hoarse
I once asked you to make it stop
My hands are shaking, my rhythm is shot
So baby, if you love me, tie me off
Tacit the band, let’s hear the needle drop
And now, mother wild and true
I find that I must turn to you
When will you return?
When will you return?
Upon your people, you once smiled
My tears send us a brand new child
Soon will you return
Soon will you return
The man who drowns floats face down
But the woman who dies faces the sky