You don't understand the pattern of my life   Because my life has got no pattern   You don't see and you can't feel the wind   That's blowing at my back and saying move boy      You think this burning fever in my heart is just a folly   And I'm throwin' away my happiness by leaving you   Well, it's my life, throw it away if I want to      I've tried my best to plant my feet   And stay with you but all I feel is roots grow   And what man wants a woman   Who won't satisfy his heart and soothe his ego      I sleep all day and run all night   And you tell me that that ain't right   That ain't what the husbands of your friends do   But it's my life, throw it away if I want to      You try to make me think my nonconforming life   Has colored me some evil shade   You delight in filling up my mind with   Little bits of guilt you think I oughta feel      Well I'm tired of feeling guilty   And I'm tired of having nothing   And I'm throwin' away this life   You've had me shackled to   It's my life, throw it away if I want to      I've tried my best to plant my feet   And stay with you but all I feel is roots grow   And what man wants a woman   Who won't satisfy his heart and soothe his ego      I sleep all day and run all night   And you tell me that that ain't right   That ain't what the husbands of your friends do   But it's my life, throw it away if I want to