Lyrics to
Just The Way I Am

This version of Just The Way I Am was released by Dolly Parton in 1970.

Our About Dolly Parton page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Just The Way I Am from 1970 as well as all of the other lyrics from Dolly Parton that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Dolly Parton or about the 1970s in general.

If you hear me crying in the night
Pretend that you don’t hear me it’s alright
Don’t ask me why I’m crying, please don’t make a sound
I don’t know why, it’s just the way I am
And if you think I act a little strange
And you don’t understand when I do things
Like running through the fields while the rain is pouring down
I don’t know why, it’s just the way I am

And even though you may not understand me
I hope that you’ll accept me like I am
For there are many sides of me, my mind and spirit must be free
And I might smile when other folks would frown
I don’t know why, it’s just the way I am

I might go out chasing butterflies
And if I fail to catch one I might cry
And if you want me you might find me in the meadow walking ’round
I don’t know why, it’s just the way I am

I might be home and busy cleaning house
And in the middle of my work I might go out
And go play games with children at the playground
It makes me happy, and that’s just the way I am

And even though you may not understand me
I hope that you’ll accept me like I am
For there are childish sides of me
My mind and spirit must be free
I might smile when you think I should frown
I don’t know why, it’s just the way I am

---

Want more lyrics and songs by Dolly Parton?

Dolly Parton has released many songs over the years besides Just The Way I Am. Dolly Parton released songs from 1967 to 2005 spanning across albums like Hello, I'm Dolly, Just Because I'm A Woman, My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy, In The Good Old Days, As Long As I Love, The Fairest Of Them All, A Real Live Dolly, Coat Of Many Colors, The Golden Streets Of Glory, Joshua, Touch Your Woman, My Favorite Songwriter: Porter Wagoner, Bubbling Over, My Tennessee Mountain Home, Love Is Like A Butterfly, Jolene, Dolly: The Seeker / We Used To, The Bargain Store, All I Can Do, New Harvest... First Gathering, Here You Come Again, Heartbreaker, Great Balls Of Fire, 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs, Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, Heartbreak Express, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Burlap & Satin, Rhinestone, The Great Pretender, Real Love, Rainbow, White Limozeen, Home For Christmas, Eagle When She Flies, Straight Talk, Slow Dancing With The Moon, Heartsongs: Live From Home, Something Special, Treasures, Hungry Again, The Grass Is Blue, Precious Memories, Little Sparrow, Halos & Horns, For God And Country, and Those Were The Days. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Dolly Parton.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1970 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Just The Way I Am by Dolly Parton

The lyrics to Just The Way I Am are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Dolly Parton used when the song was created in 1970. The lyrics to Just The Way I Am have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Dolly Parton and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Just The Way I Am by Dolly Parton. 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 Just The Way I Am" means the words set to the music of Just The Way I Am, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Dolly Parton. 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 Just The Way I Am and the lyrics to Just The Way I Am are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Dolly Parton who came here looking just for the lyrics to Just The Way I Am, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Dolly Parton

Visit our Dolly Parton profile for more Dolly Parton songs, lyrics & info!

)