RIP #JerryHerman who wrote #IAmWhatIAm (La Cage aux Folles), a Broadway hit which became an LGBT anthem. For me, the song is a perfect autistic/disability #SelfAdvocacy anthem as well.
I’ve always loved this Shirley Bassey rendition:
LYRICS:
I am what I am.
I am my own special creation.
So come take a look
Give me the hook or the ovation.
It's my world that I want to have a little pride in.
My world & it's not a place I have to hide in.
Life's not worth a damn
'Till you can say
"Hey World, I am what I am."
I am what I am.
I don't want praise
I dont want pity.
I bang my own drum.
Some think it's noise
I think its pretty.
So what if I love each sparkle
and each bangle?
Why not try to see things
from a different angle?
Your life is a sham
'Till you can shout out loud
I am what I am!
I am what I am
And what I am needs no excuses.
I deal my own deck
Sometimes the aces,
sometimes the deuces.
There's one life, and there's no return & no deposit;
One life, so it's time to open up your closet.
Life's not worth a damn
'Till you can say
"Hey world, I am what I am."
(End)
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