Don't Be Afraid To Feel

I Had My Schooling Right There In The Cotton Club.

I Want To Sing Like Aretha Franklin. Before Her I Wanted The Technical Ability Of Ella Fitzgerald.

I Was Unique In That I Was A Kind Of Black That White People Could Accept. I Was Their Daydream. I Had The Worst Kind Of Acceptance Because It Was Never For How Great I Was Or What I Contributed. It Was Because Of The Way I Looked.

You Wouldn't Be Allowed To Get On A Particular Bus, But You'd Be Asked To Sign Your Autograph.

I'm Not Alone, I'm Free. I No Longer Have To Be A Credit, I Don't Have To Be A Symbol To Anybody; I Don't Have To Be A First To Anybody.