Take me as I am

She's been down and out,
she's been wrote about,
she's been talked about,
constantly.
She's been up and down,
she's been pushed around,
but they held her down,
NYC.
She has no regrets,
she accepts the past,
all these things they helped
to make she.
She's been lost and found,
and she's still around,
there's a reason for
everything.

You know I've been holdin on.
Try to make me weak,
but I still stay strong.
Put my life all up in these songs,
just so you can feel me,
so you can get the real me.

So take me as I am,
or have nothing at all,
just take me as I am,
or have nothing at all.

Now she's older now,
yes, she's wiser now
can't disguise her now,
she don't need
no one tellin her
what to do and say,
no one tellin her
who to be.
She's on solid ground,
she's been lost and found,
now she answers to
G-O-D,
and she's confident
this is not the end.
Ask me how I know,
cause she is me.

You know I've been holdin on.
Try to make me weak,
but I still stay strong.
Put my life all up in these songs,
just so you can feel me,
so you can get the real me.

So take me as I am,
or have nothing at all,
just take me as I am,
or have nothing at all.

So it's all or nothing at all,
all or nothing at all,
don't you know I can only be me,
I can only be me, yeah,
I can only be me.
So it's all or nothing at all,
all or nothing at all,
don't you know I can only be me,
I can only be me, yeah,
this is me.

This is me,
this is me,
this is me,
this is me,
this is me,
no one else, no,
you can't take that from me, oh.

So take me as I am,
or have nothing at all,
just take me as I am,
or have nothing at all.

Written by Mary J. Blige