Album: The Marshall Mathers LP
Artist: Eminem
Title: The Way I Am
Track: Track 7
Writer: Eminem
Produced by: Eminem
Release date: May 23, 2000
The Way I Am Lyrics
[Segue from “Steve Berman (Skit)“]
…Man, whatever
[Intro]
Dre, just let it run
Ayo, turn the beat up a little bit
Ayo
This song is for anyone
Fuck it, shut up and listen
Ayo
[Verse 1]
I sit back with this pack of Zig-Zag’s and this bag
Of this weed, it gives me the shit needed to be
The most meanest MC on this, on this Earth
And since birth I’ve been cursed with this curse to just curse
And just blurt this berserk and bizarre shit that works
And it sells and it helps in itself to relieve
All this tension, dispensin’ these sentences
Gettin’ this stress that’s been eatin’ me recently off
Of this chest and I rest again peacefully (Peacefully)
But at least have the decency in you
To leave me alone, when you freaks see me out
In the streets when I’m eatin’ or feedin’ my daughter
To not come and speak to me (Speak to me), I don’t know you
And no, I don’t owe you a motherfuckin’ thing
I’m not Mr. N’Sync, I’m not what your friends think
I’m not Mr. Friendly, I can be a prick
If you tempt me, my tank is on empty (Is on empty)
No patience is in me and if you offend me
I’m liftin’ you ten feet (Liftin’ you ten feet) in the air
I don’t care who was there and who saw me just jaw you
Go call you a lawyer, file you a lawsuit
I’ll smile in the courtroom and buy you a wardrobe
I’m tired of all you (Of all you), I don’t mean to be mean
But that’s all I can be, it’s just me
[Chorus]
And I am whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news, every day I am
Radio won’t even play my jam
‘Cause I am whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news, every day I am
I don’t know, that’s just the way I am
[Verse 2]
Sometimes I just feel like my father, I hate to be bothered
With all of this nonsense, it’s constant
And, “Oh, it’s his lyrical content
The song ‘Guilty Conscience’ has gotten such rotten responses”
And all of this controversy circles me
And it seems like the media immediately
Points a finger at me (Finger at me)
So I point one back at ’em, but not the index or pinkie
Or the ring or the thumb, it’s the one you put up
When you don’t give a fuck, when you won’t just put up
With the bullshit they pull, ’cause they full of shit too
When a dude’s gettin’ bullied and shoots up his school
And they blame it on Marilyn (On Marilyn) and the heroin
Where were the parents at? And look where it’s at!
Middle America, now it’s a tragedy
Now it’s so sad to see, an upper-class city
Havin’ this happenin’ (This happenin’) then attack
Eminem ’cause I rap this way (Rap this way) but I’m glad
‘Cause they feed me the fuel that I need for the fire to burn
And it’s burnin’, and I have returned
[Chorus]
And I am whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news, every day I am
Radio won’t even play my jam
‘Cause I am whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news, every day I am
I don’t know, that’s just the way I am
[Verse 3]
I’m so sick and tired of bein’ admired
That I wish that I would just die or get fired
And dropped from my label, let’s stop with the fables
I’m not gonna be able to top a “My Name Is”
And pigeon-holed into some poppy sensation
To cop me rotation at rock ‘n’ roll stations
And I just do not got the patience (Got the patience)
To deal with these cocky Caucasians
Who think I’m some wigger who just tries to be black ’cause I talk
With an accent and grab on my balls so they always
Keep askin’ the same fuckin’ questions (Fuckin’ questions)
What school did I go to, what hood I grew up in
The why, the who, what, when, the where and the how
‘Til I’m grabbin’ my hair and I’m tearin’ it out
‘Cause they drivin’ me crazy (Drivin’ me crazy), I can’t take it
I’m racin’, I’m pacin’, I stand and I sit
And I’m thankful for every fan that I get
But I can’t take a shit in the bathroom without
Someone standin’ by it! (Standin’ by it) No, I won’t sign your autograph
You can call me an asshole, I’m glad
[Chorus]
‘Cause I am whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news, every day I am
Radio won’t even play my jam
‘Cause I am whatever you say I am
If I wasn’t, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news, every day I am
I don’t know, that’s just the way I am
[Produced by Eminem]
About “The Way I Am” song:
The second single from Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP, also featured on his 2005 album Curtain Call: The Hits
In the tradition of most of Eminem’s follow-up singles, “The Way I Am” features a much darker and emotionally driven sound than the album’s lead single, “The Real Slim Shady”. However, “The Way I Am” was actually recorded before “The Real Slim Shady”, as a direct result of the record company putting pressure on Em to create a poppy first single for the album.
The song has also been remixed by Danny Lohner featuring Marilyn Manson, who has performed the song with Eminem live on stage:
Interesting fact: this is one of the only rap songs to rely heavily on anapestic tetrameter— four anapestic feet (da da DUM) per line. In fact, the entire track except the hook uses this meter.
Anapestic tetrameter is more familiar from comic poetry, as in Twas the night before Christmas, Yertle the Turtle, and other Doctor Seuss stories–meaning that this form would typically not be best suited for the anger Em expresses in this rap, but being controversial is what he does best.
Listen to The Way I Am (Live)
The Marshall Mathers LP
The rest of The Marshall Mathers LP lyrics:
Other: Eminem lyrics