Ani Difranco Hide Seek
Me and all the kids from the neighbourhood
We'd play out in the street all summer long
Rule was we had to go home at night
When the street lights came on
We were oblivious to the rest of the world
And we'd hold up the cars in the street
Yeah, we'd always play boys against girls
And both sides would cheat
Strange men would stop their cars at the curb
Say, "Hey sweetheart come here"
And I'd go up to the window
And they'd have their dick out in their hands
With a sick little sneer
I'd say,"Here we go again!
Yeah, ok this time you win"
And I would feel dirty, I'd feel ashamed
But I wouldn't let it stop my game
We would play 'hide and go seek'
Territory would be the whole block
Sometimes the older boys when they'd find you
They wouldn't want to tag you, they'd just want to talk
They'd say "What would you do for a quarter?
Come on, we don't have that much time"
And I'd think a minute and I'd say
"Ok, give me the quarter first, fine"
This time you win
Here we go again!
And I would feel dirty and I would feel ashamed
But I wouldn't let it stop my game
I remember my first trip alone on the Greyhound bus
A man who put his hands on me as soon as night fell
And I remember when I was leavin' how excited I was
And I remember when I arrived, I didn't feel so well
I remember the teacher at school got me so sick and scared
I went into the bathroom and threw up in my hair
And I could go on, but you know, it just gets worse
And I could probably stop there
Girl, next time he wants to know
What your problem is
Girl, next time he wants to know
Where the anger comes from
Just tell him this time the problem's his
Tell him the anger just comes
It just comes
