Difranco Ani Pale Purple Lyrics

Pale Purple Lyrics

pale purple nipples
goose pimpled
she shivers shifts from a walk to a
trot
alone in the city
infested with faces
immune to new
friendships
interested in places she's never seen
she says everything is
grey here
and nothing is green
the girls from down the street
sixteen,
seventeen years old
you can smell them getting pregnant
you can hear their
rock and roll
that's america
you have to be tough
like a glad trash
bag
the government's an old nag
with a good pedigree
but pedigree's
don't help you and me
I see the precedent is grey here
and nothing is
green
unless something unforseen happens
I'm surrounded by the
haves
they say I can have some too
just because of what I do
do they
think a lot
about those who have not
or does it just distract
them
from what they do
most of us have grey
except for those who can
pay
for green
I'm torn
I'm torn
rejecting outfits offered
me
regretting things I've worn
when I was still playing roles
to fill
holes
in my conception of who I am
you know, now I understand
it's not
important to be defined
it's only important to use your time well
well
time is something nobody can buy
and nobody can sell you
so don't let
anybody tell you
they have the advantage
because all the grey people can
say every day
doesn't mean anything
if your mind is green
pale purple
nipples
goose pimpled
she shivers shifts from a walk to a trot
alone
in the city
infested with faces
immune to new friendships
interested
in places she's never seen
she says everything is grey here
otherwise I'd
stay here
but I'm looking for green
just like every human being