People tell me that I’m crazy That I should give up Stay inside the lines Because life is tough People say to have a good life You gotta find love Raise a good family And praise God above For a while I was convinced I conformed to their wishes But my life was not my own I just wish I would have known That I don’t need approval on how to live my life And I want to be happy, not controlled by time So go ahead define me by race or job or years But I won’t be affected, I will save my tears Because I-y-y-I don’t need your approval I know you are well-meaning Speak what you know Comfort isn’t living Gotta free your soul What happened to all the leaders The ones who stand out Speak their minds Go against the crowd When did we become so fearful To be individuals (yeah yeah) Well, I am not convinced That normal is better than different That I don’t need approval on how to live my life And I want to be happy, not controlled by time So go ahead define me by race or job or years But I won’t be affected, I will save my tears Because I-y-y-I don’t need your approval That I don’t need approval on how to live my life And I want to be happy, not controlled by time So go ahead define me by race or job or years But I won’t be affected, I will save my tears Because I-y-y-I don’t need your approval Don’t wanna hold back what I wanna say when I feel it, I don’t wanna make decisions based on what society wants me to be When I look back on my life, I just wanna see that I Loved and lived a life that was right for me. That I don’t need approval on how to live my life And I want to be happy, not controlled by time So go ahead define me by race or job or years But I won’t be affected, I will save my tears Because I-y-y-I don’t need your approval