We were driving along a winding highway road
On a weekend camping getaway
There was a twisting turning river churning right beside us
It was ready to spill over the sides
And the sandbags piled high on top to stop the overflow
And the cars were stopped up all in front of us
And on the road just up ahead there was a sign
I strained my eyes to read what it said
And it said

This is an emergency dyke project
There's an urgent roadblock, please pull over here and wait
It's a necessity to keep a tight rein on the flow here
We'll let you know when it is safe to drive on through

I started thinking about emergencies, rivers and dykes
And how I fight the urge in me to wanna merge with the mainstream
How singing feels urgent to me, how I must hold tight to my identity
Or I'm gonna watch it slip downstream

See a guy from a festival committee with a wimpy handshake told me
"Maybe oughta play it a little straighter in your application, Kate"
And I said thanks for the advice, and I walked away
And I got to thinking, wait a second man
What are you really trying to say?

'Cause I've kissed a girl and I liked it too
In fact I've kissed a few in my day
So how come I'm not famous for it yet
Well I don't care if my boyfriend minds
Oops, I forgot I don't got one to hide behind
See I'm not just here for some trendy joyride

I need an emergency dyke project
Seems there's a roadblock here to my success
It's a necessity 'cause the bandwagon's up ahead of me
And I'm still not getting waved through yet

Well I must admit we're mostly lucky in this country
Being queer seems to be getting easier here every day
Except for the fear of coming out
Being called names while walking down the street
Gay-bashing jokes in the staff room, what are we complaining about?
We don't have to serve jail time 'cause it ain't a crime no more
So what if they organized a vote nationwide
To decide if they should let us get married
But the divorce law still specified man and woman
'Cause they forgot to change the wording
So gay divorce was technically illegal!
Good thing they didn't take a vote on changing that law too
That could've been hell for some people

Now while I'm at it, I'm on a roll
Just wind me up and watch me go
Let me play you a little slice of lesbian life
Butch women aren't always welcome in women's public restrooms
'Cause some straight mum will insist you're in the wrong place
Grab her kids and run, thinking you're a man
Then the small town hotel clerk asks, two beds, then?
And you and your gal say, no, one will be grand
And he looks confused and says
Well which one's the wife and which one's the husband?
And then your mother asks, darling, do you have to dress so masculine?
I mean really honey, do you have to be a lesbian?

I need an emergency dyke project
One that defies heterosexual logic
It's a necessity 'cause I'm an invisible minority
And conforming just ain't an option for me

So until I see us all out there on the big screen
On radio, in textbooks and ads and magazines
I'm going to keep on living my dream
I'm going to keep on being the real thing
And I'm hoping I'll work myself out of this job eventually
But in the meantime, I'd rather pass for a girly dyke
Than squeak by as a question mark
You know, I'd rather make my mark in this game
'Cause I'm a day making a name for myself
I'm a woman on the loose, loose-lipped and rocking the ship
Shit-disturbing, just for the fun of it

This is an emergency dyke project
There's an urgency to my work here every day
It's a necessity 'cause the mainstream can't seem to accept me
So I'll sing in bold hoping this is history one day
This is an emergency dyke project
There's an urgency to our work here every day
It's a necessity 'cause the mainstream can't seem to accept you and me
So let's live in bold hoping this is history one day
And I'll sing in bold to keep those homophobes away