Lyrics Talk to Me Now - Ani DiFranco

He said, "You've gotten tough"
'Cause my tone was curt.
Yeah and when I'm approached in a dark alley,
I don't lift my skirt.
In the city, self-preservation is a full time occupation.
I'm determined to survive on this shore.
You know I don't avert my eyes anymore.
In a man's world, I am a woman by birth.
And after nineteen times around,
I have found they will stop what you are worth.
Talk to me now.
I played the powerless in too many dark scenes,
And I was blessed with a birth and a death,
And I guess I just wanted some say in between.
Don't you understand?
In the day to day and the face to face,
I have to act just as strong as I can
Just to preserve a place where I can be who I am.