I Have a Name

Muddied morals talking shop in offices
When I'm not there
Playing white knight hero front of witnesses
But you'll just stare as they strip me bare

My mother's inheritance is one that I reject
Silent generations bearing children and a pledge
I know, I know
The way that these things go
I know, I know
The way that these things go

I have a name
I have a name

We hear echoes of a gunshot through the speaker
It's your shame
In a public court of men who kill our sisters
Every day, and it doesn't change

Point a finger that my freedom is a reaper
Take steps back in time when women bleed out on a table
Drag my name through the mud
Call me frigid or a slut
To stroke your ego
I know, I know this is how it goes

I have a name
I have a name
I never chose to fight a war I never had a place in
I never chose to play a game where no one ends up winning
I never fought on even ground or sat down at your table
But I have a name
And you can learn to say it

Take a mother's warmth and dare to call it weakness
Build up prophets fearing women's voices
Claim my body, build it fragile like a prison
Mirror your sins on someone else as you project them

I have a name
I have a name
I never chose to fight a war I never had a place in
I never chose to play a game where no one ends up winning
I never fought on even ground or sat down at your table
But I have a name
And you can learn to say it