I wanted lace, I wanted pearls
To be a princess like the other girls
But life came hard to my front door
And I grew up trying to even out the score

Tough, I ain’t never been nothin’ but tough
All my edges have always been rough
But Jesus loves me anyway
Oh backbone, there ain’t nothin’ wrong

With a woman that got a little backbone
You just wait ’til you taste her kind of love
You want a shy little thing, a pretty little high heel thing
Gonna cry if I don’t polish up, tough

The way I see it the hand of fate
Did me a favor with the cards he dealt my way
Found out real fast life is a game
You’re out real quick if you don’t know how to play

Tough, I ain’t never been nothin’ but tough
All my edges have always been rough
But Jesus loves me anyway
Oh backbone, there ain’t nothin’ wrong

With a woman that got a little backbone
You just wait ’til you taste her kind of love
You want a shy little thing, a pretty little high heel thing
Gonna cry if I don’t polish up, tough

Are you serious?
You ain’t fooled me much
You’re just still hangin’ round
So you can try your luck

Well, tough, I ain’t never been nothin’ but tough
All my edges have always been rough
You want a shy little thing, a pretty little high heel thing
Gonna cry if I don’t polish up, tough

You know what I got to say
About that is, tough