[Verse 1: Hip-hop soul female lead, big and proud over the booming drums] First day of first grade, and the teacher took a look At the name on the list, and she closed up the book Said, "We'll call you Toni," and the whole room laughed And I lost half my name on the very first pass Then the coach called me Netta, 'cause it fit on a shirt And the boys called me Hey You, and I learned how it hurt But my mama at the staircase with her hand on the rail When I came home late and my alibi was stale She'd say Antoinette Lorraine Beaudreaux-Washington And I'd know I was done, and I'd know what I'd done [Chorus: Hip-hop soul female lead] Say my whole name, say it slow, say it right Like my mama at the staircase when I snuck in late at night Every syllable she gave me is a syllable I'll fight for Say my whole name [Verse 2: Hip-hop soul female lead, the Rhodes chords and the hard snare] Flight school in Tulsa with a hundred-hour plan Instructor called me Washington like I was half a man First officer for nine years on a regional route Every captain called me something, but they never got it out "Hey Toni, grab the coffee, hey Netta, do the walk" And I did it with a smile, and I let 'em do the talk But I wrote it on the logbook in the box that said "Name" Every letter, every hyphen, every flight just the same Took a check ride in the winter with my stomach on the floor And they handed me four stripes, and I walked out the door [Chorus: Hip-hop soul female lead] Say my whole name, say it slow, say it right Like my mama at the staircase when I snuck in late at night Every syllable she gave me is a syllable I'll fight for Say my whole name [Verse 3: Hip-hop soul female lead, one line through the cabin pa speaker, then the band comes back full] First trip as captain, and the cabin's full Mama in seat 3B in her church hat and wool I set the brakes at the gate, and I key the mic And I say it the way that she said it that night Good mornin', ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain Antoinette Lorraine Beaudreaux-Washington And the whole plane's quiet, and my mama's in tears 'Cause I finally said it right after all of these years And she don't know if she oughta laugh or to cry So I say, "Mama, seatbelt," and we're up in the sky [Chorus: Hip-hop soul female lead, last time, the whole band and every syllable] Say my whole name, say it slow, say it right Like my mama at the staircase when I snuck in late at night Every syllable she gave me is a syllable I'll fight for Say my whole name [Outro: Hip-hop soul female lead] Antoinette Lorraine Beaudreaux-Washington Say it all [End]
