The woman has a body
That she must call her own
But they treat her like a flowerpot
For a seed that he has sown
The woman makes a baby
And feeds him til he's grown
And those who feed on fresh young
Blood will break his spirit down
They fill his brains with poison
And teach him left and right
And how to hate his brother
And they teach him black and white
The woman makes a baby
And bears a big strong son
And those who feed
On fresh young blood
They subjugate his senses
And mystify his mind
He forgets where he has come from
He's deaf and dumb and blind
They cage him in a factory
And bind down his desire
And milk his body of his strength
To stoke another fire
Then they turn him loose in the bullring
To fight with tooth and claw
And they kick his balls for punishment
If he questions what it's for
They tell him he's got freedom
As he struggles with a leash
And they fill his mouth with violence
And tell him it's free speech
The pay-off is the power
As he crawls his way above
Over those who fall behind him
Over those who need his love
Over those who feed his body
Over those who ease his pain
Over those who bear his children
Over those who lose the game
And he who was a baby
But now is big and grown
Would crush his lover's body
And break her spirit down
And cage her in a kitchen
And bind her body down
And he who feeds on mother's blood
Will keep her for his own
The woman makes a baby
A daughter strong and straight
And those who feed on fresh young
Blood can hardly bear to wait
They teach that she's a vessel
For him to enter in
And those whose pleasure she may
Feed will tell her she is a sin
They cripple her with corsets
And things that make her weak
And crucify her insteps
And smear paint upon her cheek
Then they turn her loose in the
Marketplace to buy and to be sold
She is the empty vessel
For promises of gold
They buy her for a nursery
Where a baby will be grown
They treat her like a flowerpot
For a seed that he has sown
They cage her in a doll's house
And bind down her desire
And cheat her like a spirit of its strength to stoke another fire
And if she talks of freedom
And how it all began
Those who know will tell her that
She should have been a man
So they deny her body
And they deny her mind
She forgets where she has come from
She's deaf and dumb and blind
The pay-off is protection
And shelter from the cold
And he is lost to the factory
For promises of gold
But she that can make a baby
Is a woman that's full grown
And she will take her body back
With a mind that is her own
She will not feed the factory
That makes the cage and gun
She will take her spirit back
With a mind that is her own
She will not make a baby
And feed it with her own life
A woman's body is her own –
Abortion is her right