10/27/2026
Here's the spoken word by Arleen, Master Leathercrafter!
Just vibe to the undertones of Erykah Badu's Call Tyrone!
🎤 CALL SIMONE
Original lyrics · Soulful R&B / spoken-word groove · No profanity
[Intro — spoken, over a laid-back bass groove]
Now, listen here.
I have been minding my business.
Walking my walk.
Doing what God gave me to do.
Building what I came here to build.
But somebody's got a whole lot to say
when I'm not in the room.
So I have one little question.
If you have something to say about me, baby...
Why don't you say it to me?
Oh, I know why.
Let's talk about it.
[Verse 1 — smooth, conversational, with attitude]
Throw a little shade, then you duck behind a friend,
Start a little mess, then pretend it never happened.
Whisper in the corner, put a smile upon your face,
Then act like you're an angel when I walk into the place.
You can pass a little story, you can twist a little truth,
But you can't stand ten toes when I come to talk to you.
You want me to react, want me falling out of line,
But I won't disrespect the innocent to satisfy your mind.
See, my silence ain't surrender, and my manners ain't defeat,
I can keep my hands in prayer and still have fire in my speech.
You mistake my self-control for a woman who's afraid.
Honey, I know how to fight. I just choose a different way.
[Chorus — catchy, rhythmic, call-and-response]
Call Simone! Call Simone!
Somebody tell her bring her own voice to the phone!
If you got something to say, don't send it down the line.
Don't hide behind your friends and waste everybody's time.
Call Simone! Call Simone!
Come on in the ring if you're claiming that you're grown!
You want me to prove myself? Well, darling, here's the thing:
You can't call yourself a champion if you never enter the ring!
Call Simone!
Oh, don't whisper now.
Call Simone!
Say it with your chest!
Call Simone!
If it's really about me,
Baby, you know the address!
[Verse 2 — playful, sharper delivery]
Now, Muhammad Ali said, "I'm the greatest," made it plain,
He didn't win his reputation by just talking in the stands.
You want to judge my every move, critique my every stitch,
But when it's time to show your work, you suddenly get shy and switch.
You want a woman proving something, want her dancing for your crowd,
But what have you accomplished besides talking mighty loud?
Where's the vision? Where's the labor? Where's the courage? Where's the proof?
All that energy you spend on me could build a life for you.
I'm not here to trade insults. I'm not here to play your game.
But don't confuse my graciousness with being scared to say your name.
You can hide behind a title, hide behind a clique,
But character shows up in the things you do when life gets thick.
[Bridge — beat softens; gospel-influenced spoken word]
Now, let's talk about Potiphar's wife.
She had a story.
She had an accusation.
She had an opportunity to damage somebody else's name.
But do you know what we don't know?
Her name.
Genesis tells us her story, but never gives us her personal name. Joseph's integrity is what endures in that account.
And that right there is something to think about.
Because some folks will work so hard to stain your name
that they forget to build a legacy of their own.
And I don't have to spend my life chasing every whisper.
I know who I am.
I know whose I am.
And I know the difference between defending my character
and lowering my character.
I can stand my ground without losing my grace.
[Verse 3 — building confidence and momentum]
Ruth had her purpose. Esther had her hour.
Sarah had a promise and the faith to trust God's power.
Mary carried destiny the world could barely understand,
And their names still live in history because God had another plan.
Now, I don't know your name, but you sure know mine,
You can study my reflection, but you can't steal my shine.
You know what I'm creating. You know what I have done.
But instead of building something, you're still watching someone.
You can gossip till the morning, you can scheme until it's late,
But you cannot stop a purpose that was never yours to make.
And if you want to measure me, then measure what I bring.
Don't sit outside the arena telling fighters how to swing!
[Final chorus — full groove, ad-libs welcome]
Call Simone! Call Simone!
Tell the whole little committee I can handle my own!
If you got something to say, let your own voice ring.
Don't send a little messenger to do your talking!
Call Simone! Call Simone!
Bring your courage, bring your truth, leave your gossip at home!
You want me in the ring? Well, I know what I can do.
But the question isn't what I'll prove.
The question is: What have you proved?
Call Simone!
No hiding in the back!
Call Simone!
No sending shade through the pack!
Call Simone!
I have nothing left to prove.
I'm too busy building my future
To spend my life watching you.
[Outro — spoken, music fading]
And let me leave you with this.
I don't have to expose you.
I don't have to chase you.
I don't have to call you out of your name.
Your behavior will introduce you
long before I ever have to introduce myself.
And when the story is told?
Let it be said that I built something.
That I stood for something.
That I kept my dignity.
And that I never needed a crowd
to know who I was.
Now...
If you have something to say about me?
Call Simone.
And please...
Come to the phone with your own voice.
Music fades.
