Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter，twisted lies，

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still，like dust，I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you？

Why are you beset1） with gloom？

' Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping2） in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns，

With the certainty of tides，

Just like hopes springing high，

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken？

Bowed head and lowered eyes？

Shoulders falling down like teardrops，

Weakened by my soulful cries？

Does my haughtiness3） offend you？

Don't you take it awful hard

' Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words，

You may cut me with your eyes，

You may kill me with your hatefulness，

But still，like air，I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you？

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs4）？

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean，leaping and wide，

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously5） clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave，

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

beset v. 困扰

pumping vt. 泵抽水

haughtiness n. 傲慢， 不逊

thigh n. 大腿， 股

wondrously adv. 惊奇地，非常，极其