You got to be fortunate, you got to be lucky now
I was just sitting here; thinking good and bad
But I’m the kind of woman that was built to last
They tried erasing me, but they couldn’t wipe out my past
To save my child I’d rather go hungry
I got all of Ethiopia inside of me
And my blood flows through every man
In this godless land that delivered me
I’ve cried so many tears even the blind can see

[Chorus:]
This is a woman’s world… This is my world
This is a woman’s world for this man’s girl
There ain’t a woman in this world, not a woman or a little girl
That can’t deliver love in a man’s world

I’ve born and I’ve bred; I’ve cleaned and I’ve fed
And for my healing wits I’ve been called a witch
I’ve crackled in the fire and been called a liar
I’ve died so many times; I’m only just coming to life

[Chorus]

My blood flows through every man and every child
In this godless land that delivered me
I cried so many tears even the blind can see

Neneh Cherry

Neneh Mariann Karlsson was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and a father from Sierra Leone. Her mother raised her in a commune with her stepfather, jazz musician Don Cherry (father of Eagle Eye Cherry).

She moved to London in the 1980s and immersed herself in the Bristol music scene (where Massive Attack and Portishead would form), getting involved with bands such as The Cherries, The Slits, New Age Steppers, Rip Rig + Panic and Float Up CP.

But it was her collaboration with the duo Morgan-McVey, who released only the one single “Looking Good Diving”, that would be the springboard to launch her into international stardom. The single’s B-side featured Cherry rapping over the A-side’s instrumental tracks with what later became the lyrics to her 1988 debut breakout single “Buffalo Stance” (its music reworked by Bomb The Bass' Tim Simenon) – which reached the top 10 in eleven countries.