Lyrics to
I Am What I Am

Our About Village People page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for I Am What I Am from 1978 as well as all of the other lyrics from Village People that we have in our lyrics database.

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I am, I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, I’ll be, I’ll be
I am, I am, what I am, what I am, for the rights, for the rights, of man, hey

People have the right to be just who they are
People have the right to share all of their love
People have the right to share just what they give
The right to their free will.

I did not choose the way I am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I am, This is my fellow man
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I a-a-am, Please try to understand,
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am
I said I am what I a-a-am, I am just a man,
I was born into this wor-or-orld, Born into this world,
I said I am what I a-a-am, I am what I am, hey, alright

Say it, say it y’all
I am, I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, I’ll be, hey, alright
I am, I am, what I am, what I am, for the rights, for the rights, of man, listen here

People have the right, regardless of their skin
People have the right to let God’s love come in
People have the right to truly be yourfriend
To love is not a sin.

I did not choose the way I am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I am, This is my fellow man
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I a-a-am, Please try to understand,
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am
I said I am what I a-a-am, I am just a man,
I was born into this wor-or-orld, Born into this world,
I said I am what I a-a-am, I am what I am, hey

Everybody, everybody say it with me y’all
I am, I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, I’ll be, hey, alright
I am, what I am, what I am, what I am, for the rights, for the rights, of man, yeah

People have the right to live with who they please
People have the right to live there happily
No one has the right to choose my love for me
I was born free.

I did not choose the way I am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I am, This is my fellow man
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I a-a-am, Please try to understand,
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am
I said I am what I a-a-am, I am just a man,
I was born into this wor-or-orld, Born into this world,
Oh, I am what I a-a-am, I am what I am, hey

I did not choose the way I am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I am, This is my fellow man
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am,
I said I am what I a-a-am, Please try to understand,
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, I did not choose the way I am
I said I am what I a-a-am, I am just a man,
I did not choose the way I a-a-am, Born into this world,
Hey, I am what I a-a-am, I am what I am

I did not choose the way I am – No one chooses the way they are-are
This is my fellow man – You’ve get to love everybody
I did not choose the way I am – Everybody was born into this wor-or-orld
Please try to understand – Nobody forgives their pa
I did not choose the way I am – Na, na, na, I did not choose
I am just a man – I’m just a ma-an
Born into this world – I am what I am, yeah
I am what I am – Everybody, everybody everybody, (fade begin)
I did not choose the way I am – I did not choose the way I am
This is my fellow man – I’m just a man
I did not choose the way I am – I’m just a man you know
Please try to understand – Everybody, I’m just a man you know

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Village People has released many songs over the years besides I Am What I Am. Village People released songs from 1977 to 1981 spanning across albums like Village People, Cruisin', Macho Man, Go West, Can't Stop The Music, and Renaissance. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Village People.

About Lyrics and I Am What I Am by Village People

The lyrics for I Am What I Am are made up of the words, verses and background chorus for the popular 1978 song by Village People. Like a lot of songs, the lyrics to I Am What I Am have both direct meanings and metaphorical context hidden within the song's words. All of the meanings are only truly known by the creators of the lyrics for I Am What I Am - Village People and any of the writers who worked with them on the song.

If you have an interest in the structure of words and phrases, you can dissect the lyrics to I Am What I Am by Village People in multiple ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to I Am What I Am" means the words set to the music of I Am What I Am, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Village People. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to I Am What I Am and the lyrics to I Am What I Am are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Village People who came here looking just for the lyrics to I Am What I Am, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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