Not A Pretty Girl

Ani DiFranco · So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter [2002]

I am not a pretty girl

that is not what I do

I ain't no damsel in distress

and I don't need to be rescued

so put me down punk

wouldn't you prefer a maiden fair

isn't there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere?



I am not an angry girl

but it seems like I've got everyone fooled

every time I say something they find hard to hear

they chalk it up to my anger

and never to their own fear

and imagine you're a girl

just trying to finally come clean

knowing full well they'd prefer you

were dirty and smiling



and I am sorry

but I am not a maiden fair

and I am not a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere



and generally, my generation

wouldn't be caught dead working for the man

and generally I agree with them

trouble is you gotta have youself an alternate plan

and I have earned my disillusionment

I have been working all of my life

and I am a patriot

I have been fighting the good fight

and what if there are no damsels in distress

what if I knew that and I called your bluff?

don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down?

whether or not you ever show up



I am not a pretty girl

I don't really want to be a pretty girl

no I want to be more than a pretty girl.