Perhaps I'll never show this world all I could be I just can't sing to any man the song he wants to hear And I know that some won't like me Others try to be my friend But I'm all of me, and that's all that I am [Chorus] And if life is for the living Then why can't men be real 'Stead of hidin' in their costumes Forgettin' how to feel, forgettin' how to feel We still live in a time when manners cover what is real There's a basic fact of life that the times cannot conceal That if some are masqueraders Others live in their facade But I'm what I am I cannot be what I am not [Chorus] I may be too honest and offend those who pretend I don't claim I'm always right, that I'm ev'rybody's friend Perhaps for them it's easier to be what they are not But I'm what I am, and I just can't play that part [Chorus]