[VERSE 1]
Ladies listen up, I really hope you're ready
Cause what I've got to say is far from petty
We've come a long way, baby, so maybe
Shanté can help a sister that's way be-
hind, lost in the mind and can't find
Her way to a better day, you know the kind
So wrapped up in fairy tale dreams
So naive that every male seems
Honest and loyal ready, to spoil
Buyin him gifts as if the boy's loyal
But Shanté is here just to say a few things
Some you heard before, but some are new things
So lend me your ears
Dry up your tears
And let's hear the cheers
For the years
Of the independent woman

(Yeah)
(Louder)

[VERSE 2]
How many runny-nose kids can you have
How many nights can you work on the ave.
Your so-called man has a car and a Visa
He's livin large while you're livin on pizza
Unemployed while you wait for the perfect mate
Let's get one thing straight cause it's gettin late
What you're waitin for is really never comin
No one hears the sorry tunes that you're hummin
I'm here to bring the news, that if you're singin the blues
Everyday, it will not change the views
That people have of you, they say you're lost
Nobody forced you to quit, your future's tossed
You put your faith in the guys with the hazel eyes
You thought you would get a prize, all you got was lies
Now you're stuck in a room with a mopping broom
Did you assume that one day you will find a groom?
Are you dizzy, who would ever marry you?
You're lookin for a man that will carry you
And buy you nice things, like diamond rings
You're amazed at the truth that my rhymin brings
But the truth is the only way you'll ever see
That the life that you're hopin for will never be
But the race isn't over, put down the rope
Shanté is here to say there's still hope
So lend me your ears
Dry up your tears
And let's hear the cheers
For the years
Of the independent woman

(Yeah)
(Louder)

[VERSE 3]
So much to live for, she wants to die
Life's full of pitfalls, maybe that's why
Her pops went to jail, her mother tapped her vein
City took custody and trapped her in pain
Feelin so alone in the room with a stranger
Hates her own blood and nothing's gonna change her
Angry at the world cause it doesn't play fair
So much dispair does she feel, no one to care
Not a single family member will remember her
Smoke's in her eyes, and the past is a blur
She's on her own now, livin with some other girls
With the same damn lives, but from a different world
These girls are lost, how the city is full of fools
So many years, no guidings, and no kinda rules
No love to give
Yo, they need love to live
If not instead
They'll ponder in a bed
Sex is the thing that makes her feel wanted
Love and care, for she's undaunted
Because whoever is laying there won't really matter
Such a sad song when young dreams shatter
I really don't think glue is gonna fix it
But homegirl can walk the right path if she picks it
So lend me your ears
Dry up your tears
And let's hear the cheers
For the years
Of the independent woman

(Yeah)
(Louder)

[VERSE 4]
The black woman role grows larger each day
Nothing in the way so what we teach may
Somehow help those young sisters that doze
And sleepwalk through life with their eyes closed
You don't need a man, all you need is to know you can
Then you can stand on your own two feet and
Achieve anything that you want out of life
Do for yourself, then you can be a wife
And you'll feel so good that you wanna shout
Because you got to the top and got there without
Relyin on Tom, Dick, or Billy Dee
You don't have to turn the lights on to really see
So lend me your ears
Dry up your tears
And let's hear the cheers
For the years
Of the independent woman

Independent woman