[Intro - several distinct female voices, overlapping] I'm happy. I'm angry. I'm grateful. I'm grieving. I'm loving. I'm leaving. I'm staying. I'm breathing. [Sudden silence] [Cold voice] Make up your mind. [Woman, deadpan] About what? [Detuned piano crash] [Verse 1 - jagged spoken rhythm] They want me neatly categorized, Sanitized and standardized. Label this and file that, Put my feelings in a paper bag. Happy people don't get angry! Kind people don't say no! Grateful women don't complain! And strong ones never show... [Music stops] Show WHAT? A heartbeat? A memory? A wound? A thought? Apparently humanity Is something to get caught. [Verse 2 - crooked jazz-funk] I can love you and be furious, Be cautious and still curious. Feel courageous, feel afraid, Question every choice I've made. I can dance inside a thunderstorm, Feel abandoned while I'm warm. Find a reason to be thankful While I'm grieving what is gone. I can laugh until I'm crying, Cry until I start to laugh. I can know I'm still surviving While I'm mourning what I had. [Pre-Chorus - voices arguing] Pick a side! Choose a face! Find your role! Know your place! Be consistent! Be agreeable! Be predictable! Be believable! [Woman] And if I'm all of those things? [Voices] IMPOSSIBLE! [Chorus - rhythm fractures, voices clash] THE UNCOMFORTABLE SPECTRUM! Too many colors in the room! You wanted black and white, But I brought the fucking moon! I'm the thunder and the sunshine! I'm the question and the doubt! I'm the one who welcomes everyone And knows when to throw them out! Call me complicated! Call me hard to understand! I'm not your emotional furniture Arranged to suit your plans! [Instrumental - discordant saxophone and piano fight] [Verse 3 - furious rhythmic rap] They want the healer, not the hurting. Want the worker, not the resting. Want the giver, not the needing. Want the listening, not the speaking. Want the woman who forgives, But not the one who remembers. Want the fire that keeps them warm, Not the one that burns their fingers. Want the artist, not the madness. Want the joy without the sadness. Want the harvest, not the weather. Want the song without the pressure. Want the truth? Not if it's ugly. Want the love? Only if it's lovely. [Silence] [Whispered accusation] What exactly do you want from me? [Bridge - eerie, almost beautiful waltz] There's a little girl who's frightened. There's a woman full of rage. There's a mother without children Who still hears them call her name. There's a dreamer planting gardens. There's a stranger at the gate. There's a lover, there's a fighter, There's somebody running late. There's a woman who needs silence. There's another who must scream. There's a thousand different lifetimes Living somewhere in between. [Waltz becomes increasingly unstable] [Cold voice] Which one is the real you? [Woman] All of them. [Voice] That's not acceptable. [Woman, shouting] ALL OF THEM, ASSHOLE! [Music crashes] [Verse 4 - raw, emotional, irregular] Which part should I amputate To make the rest of me okay? Which emotion gets the knife? Which memory deserves to die? Do I cut away the grieving? Do I silence all the rage? Do I bury every frightened child To look respectable for my age? Would you love me if I'm quiet? Would you love me if I cry? Would you love me if I question Every comforting little lie? Would you love me when I'm useless? When I've nothing left to give? Or is being fully human Too expensive to forgive? [Long silence] [Different woman, gently] Don't cut anything. [Chorus - chaotic voices slowly find a rhythm] THE UNCOMFORTABLE SPECTRUM! Every color gets to stay! Not another little piece of me Gets thrown away today! I'm the laughter and the heartbreak! I'm the sorrow and the song! I'm the one who keeps on dancing When the rhythm comes out wrong! I can love and disagree! I can leave and still believe! I can break and still be whole Without becoming what you need! [Outro - instruments fall away one by one] [Several voices, alternating] I'm angry. I'm tender. I'm grieving. I remember. I'm laughing. I'm tired. I'm hopeful. I'm wired. [Pause] [One small voice] Am I too much? [Another voice] No. [Pause] [Woman] I'm not a problem Waiting for a solution. I'm a human being Having an experience. [Three piano notes, fourth note clashing] [Soft laugh] Well... That sounded about right. [End]
