I’VE GOTTA BE ME by SAMMY DAVIS Jr.
with modification by HILLEL
From the Series ‘Life lessons from the Dog Walk” and “Art of the School Playground”
Whether I’m right or whether I’m wrong
Whether I find a place in this world or never belong
I gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me
What else can I be but what I am
I want to live, not merely survive
And I won’t give up this dream
Of life that keeps me alive
I gotta be me, I gotta be me
The dream that I see makes me what I am
That far away prize, a world of success
Is waiting for me if I heed the call
I won’t settle down, won’t settle for less
As long as there’s a chance that I can have it all
I’ll go it alone, that’s how it must be
I can’t be right for somebody else
If I’m not right for me
I gotta be free, I’ve gotta be free
Daring to try, to do it or die
I’ve gotta be me
I’ll go it alone, that’s how it must be
I can’t be right for somebody else
If I’m not right for me
I gotta be free, I just gotta be free
Daring to try, to do it or die
I gotta be me
Songwriters: Walter Marks
I’ve Gotta Be Me lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
1:14July 27
483
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?”
Ethics of the Fathers,