Ain't I A Woman? Lyrics

She liked to ride wild ponies

Naked as the day she was born

As if she were Mother Eve

Forgetting the rib she was torn

She hid herself in the hills

Away from the eyes of men

Her skin was the color of the earth

And the shadows bled into her hair

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

She was raised to be a good woman

And do as all good women do

And as Don Luis' servant girl

She pleased as all good women do

She cooked for him

She cleaned for him

She smiled for him

She laid for him

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

She sighed that first night

After many cycles of the moon

The seed met seed inside

Her bleeding stopped

And her belly she could not hide

Senora Luis

Was not an understanding woman

And Don Luis

Was not an understanding man

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

She smiled as it grew inside

To hide his lust

And to free himself form scorn

Don Luis fired his whore

And sent away his growing first born

Before she left, she pled for his help

But he said, "Woman tears cannot save

A man must protect himself

And it has always been this way."

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

"What of men's honor?" she cried

Pregnant, alone on the mesa

In another town of old Mexico

She begged with the other homeless

And sold herself for a few pesos

After starving, slowly dying

Off of man's kindness for 9 moons

She spilled blood and water with caballos

And Little Lola came out of her wound

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

Little Lola, your life is a lie

Together they worked the Earth

They scratched and pled for their food

And, by Mother's grace, they lived on

As all good women do

Now Little Lola had begun

To become a woman, too

Nature's cycle repeated

And her mother didn't know what to do

So they hid away from man's words

They hid away from man's lust

They hid away from man's kindness

They hid away from man's touch

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

She liked to ride on wild ponies

Naked as the day she was born

As if she were Mother Eve

Forgetting the rib she was torn

She hid herself in the hills

Away from words of mujer

Her skin was the color of the earth

And the shadows bled into her hair

But ain't I

A woman

But ain't I

A woman

Now tell me, what does all this mean