The Way It Is, lyric by Joni Mitchell

from the songs album Unreleased On Record

If you hear a politician
Or a singer making song
Do you just refuse to listen
Knowing that he must be wrong
That's the way it is, you know,
You just see what you want to see
Who am i to tell you how to think
Or tell you who to be

I will show you what i know
Sometimes we will disagree
If we learn at all to grow
Then i have done my small duty
That's the way it is, you know,
You just see what you want to see
Who am i to tell you how to think
Or tell you who to be

I could bring my favorite flower
Maybe yours would be the same
Maybe we would argue hours
Over the fair flower's name
That's the way it is, you know,
You just see what you want to see
Who am i to tell you how to think
Or tell you who to be

If i brought my good friends home
And set a welcome table place
Could you see them past their clothing
Or past the color of their face
That's the way it is, you know,
You just see what you want to see
Who am i to tell you how to think
Or tell you who to be

That's the way it is, you know
You just see what you want to see
Who am i to tell you how to think