Growing up in the hood ain't never been easy
living in a world where people would tease me
maybe it was my hair cause it never was long
maybe it was the darkness of my skin
or the clothes I had on

Let me tell you bout my mama
she had special needs
she could read or write or could hardly see
one thing I do know the woman sing
if you wanna know where I got my skills
yeah she taught me

chorus:

You don't know where I've been
until you've wallked in my shoes
so stop judging me
why don't you open up the book

lead vocals
why don't you open up the book and read it

2nd verse

You see my daddy told me I was his baby girl
it was hard for me to believe
cause he was rapped up in his on world

The man had five wives
god knows how many kids
he would drink, fight my mama
and sunday he was preaching in the pulpit

All my life I've been abuse and misused
not once do I need any sympathy from you
I grew to be a strong independent woman
I'm very proud I did
so if I walked with my head up high
don't get mad at me

chorus:
You don't know where I've been
until you've walked in my shoes
so stop judging me
why don't you open up the book and read it