VERSE 1 '76 when a man Told his wife 'baby doll sorry i can't stay' Left with 5 kids she was forced to become Superwoman and go earn some pay A college-educated girl Washing dishes in a man's world Now what good is a degree When you've got mouths to feed She is that girl, maybe you know her Maybe you've been, maybe you are today Insert your year where the year is If to this story you can relate CHORUS Giving something up We're always giving something up We are giving somethin up We're always giving something up We are giving something up We're always giving something up We are giving something up We're always giving something We're always giving something up VERSE 2 '97, a mother has no choice But to go find work and leave her kids alone Far from heaven, so she's gone 5 days out the week to bring a piece home Her man is off somewhere up some dress Bringing her back some other woman's sickness Her baby girl is crying 'Mama please When you're gone the neighbor's chasing me' Around the world, from Pakistan Down to Soweto, back to New York City Insert your year where the year is If to this story you can relate CHORUS BRIDGE (background repeated w/ each line: Giving, yes, ah) Giving, trying, self-relying Feeling, teaching, always preaching Dreaming, losing, being abused and Dying, crying, sacrificing Hurting, being told we're worthless Birthing, buried alive in the earth and Hoping, mending, spirits broken Flying and somehow surviving CHORUS (repeated w/ ad libs till end)