Why Can't I Be More?

© Julie Ruffell
Note: This piece was written as a musical number for an animated movie.

Why must I surrender?
What battle did we lose
That we are forever slaves?
Why can't we have the right to choose?

Our own destiny
How I wish it could be
Free to explore
I want so much more
Then to be here

I want to see the world
And make a difference in it
I want people to remember my name
A woman to be a hit
I want to be more
Why can't I be more?

I can throw a javelin
I can swing a sword
I can play a game of chess
So why must I call a man "My Lord"?
I can run like a cheetah
I can jump like a rabbit
So why must a dull married life
Be every woman's habit?
Why can't I be more?
Why won't they let me be more?

"That's the way things are," my mother said
"This is how it's supposed to be."
But they can't make me believe it
Because someday, I'll be free!