An uncommon sense Close to abandonment Learning, discerning The difference between do or die Each step taken away from A place of hopelessness Takes me closer To building another kind of family nest There is no inclusion for those stigmatized Nobody close to us ever recognized Only exclusion for us out there Only delusion fuss and despair An uncommon sense, woo-hoo So beautifully dressed, woo-hoo In a moment of realness, woo-hoo I fear I could be fearless, woo-hoo Destitute, out on my own I had to run this far from home The children of the damaged and unkind My new friends are like-minded It’s a mechanism of surviving this The children of God, the children of LaBeija Found a place to express my soul Won’t go on in the shadow’s hold So I’m going to the ball to get my prize Expensive things are the cheapest thrill No such thing as overkill Will we live on? The children of LaBeija? There is no inclusion for those stigmatized Nobody close to us ever recognized Only exclusion for us out there Only delusion fuss and despair If Paris is burning Then just let (just let) it burn The youth are (youth are) very discerning Till you tear them apart (tear them apart) You can’t stop the children (children) It’s easy to mock This form of survival instinct Why should I stop? And uncommon sense, woo-hoo So beautifully dressed, woo-hoo My mother’s mistake, woo-hoo My father’s heartbreak, woo-hoo Young birds who are flightless, woo-hoo Become birds of paradise, woo-hoo And the practice of realness, woo-hoo Feels so surreal