Carry on, ghetto woman
I see you working night to morning light
Yet no one cares
Carry on, ghetto woman
Cause even though they laugh
And talk about the clothes you wear
I wish they could just realize
That all you've ever needed was
Someone to free your mind
Carry on, ghetto woman
Cause even in your darkest hours
I still see your light
[Hook:]
And when you cry, don't you know
That I am crying with you?
When people put you down, yeah way down
And you feel like you're alone
Let love be your guide
You were built to last through any weather
Oh, ghetto woman, hold on to your dreams
And all your great philosophies
You're the reason I believe in me, for real
Carry on, ghetto woman
When you doubt if you're a star,
Just know we still believe
Carry on, ghetto woman
Even when the news portrays you
Less than you could be
I wish they could just realize
All you ever needed was
Someone to free your mind
Carry on, ghetto woman
You're the seventh wonder
Reigning over us at night
[Hook:]
When you cry, don't you know
We're right there crying with you
People put you down, yeah way down
And you feel like you're alone
Let love be your guide
You were built to last through any weather
Oh, ghetto woman, hold on to your dreams
And all your great philosophies
You're the reason I believe in me, for real
Some say this ghetto land
Will take you down and poison you
Some say she can do
All the things a man can do
Who said the ghetto's just a place
Where queens dance naked on the moon?
We say a woman came to change
The face of each and every room
When I was just a baby my momma dropped out of school
It was only second semester the baby due
The doctor said, «December the first, your due date»
The daddy he was gone off to college he couldn't wait
Only just a teen with dreams to be on TV
And living with a mom and my grandma who used to feed me
We would move around in the city place to place
The landlord come for the rent face to face
Her eyes too heavy from working nights as a janitor
She'd keep it to herself and nobody could understand her
Even when she thought that she couldn't she carried on
She couldn't imagine both of her daughters here all alone
Before the tuxedos and black and white every day
Used to watch my momma get down on her knees and pray
She's the reason that I'm even writing this song
Ghetto woman, no it won't be long, now sing along
Let it use you, let it use you
When the love is strong
It won't let you be alone
Let it use you
Just let the spirit lead you