Lyrics

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Handle it)

You wouldn't let me say the words I longed to say

You didn't want to see life through my eyes

(Express yourself, don't repress yourself)

You tried to shove me back inside your narrow room

And silence me with bitterness and lies

(Express yourself, don't repress yourself)

Did I say something wrong?

Oops I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex

(I musta been crazy)

Did I stay too long?

Oops I didn't know I couldn't speak my mind

(What was I thinking)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Handle it)

You punished me for telling you my fantasies

I'm breakin' all the rules I didn't make

(Express yourself, don't repress yourself)

You took my words and made a trap for silly fools

You held me down and tried to make me break

(Express yourself, don't repress yourself)

Did I say something true?

Oops I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex

(I musta been crazy)

Did I have a point of view?

Oops I didn't know I couldn't talk about you

(What was I thinking)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Handle it)

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Express yourself, don't repress yourself

Did I say something true?

Oops I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex

(I musta been crazy)

Did I have a point of view?

Oops I didn't know I couldn't talk about you

(What was I thinking)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Handle it)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

(I'm not apologizing)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

(Would it sound better if I were a man?)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

(You're the one with the problem)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Why don't you just deal with it)

'Cause I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

(Would you like me better if I was?)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

(We all feel the same way)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

(I have no regrets)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Just look in the mirror)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

(I don't have to justify anything)

It's human nature (It's human nature)

(I'm just like you)

And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry)

(Why should I be?)

I'm not your ***CENSORED***

Don't hang your shit on me (It's human nature)

(Deal with it)

Credits

Written by Madonna, Dave Hall, S. McKenzie, K. McKenzie and M. Deering

Produced by Madonna and Dave -Jam- Hall

Human Nature contains a sample of 'What You Need', performed by Main Source.

Album

Bedtime Stories

GHV2

Single

In the summer of 1995, the fourth and final single was released. With Human Nature Madonna gets back on her critics, who slagged her off during the Erotica period. She ridicules the taboos surrounding sex; "why do people get hung up over something most of us do and enjoy? Get over it, handle it. Express yourself, don't repress yourself." Great message, but it didn't sell: with a #46 in the US it scored even worse than Bedtime Story. In the UK, Canada and Japan it scored a bit better with respectively a #8, #9 and #10 position. In the Hot Dance / Club Play it stalled at #2 for three weeks. On the other hand, it's one of just a few Madonna songs that scored on the R&B airplay chart.

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Video

With Justify My Love and Open Your Heart photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino had already proven to be a great director. For Human Nature he filmed Madonna and her dancers in a fantastic choreography. Though they're all dressed in a leather S&M-outfit, the video is rather humorous than erotic. It also shows Madonna using her whip on her own chihuahua Chiquita, who's equally dressed up in leather.

Tour

A surprise on the Drowned World Tour was Human Nature. Dressed in a shirt with US flag-motive, Madonna wrapped herself and her dancers up in ropes again for this fantastic song. She climbed on a mechanical bull, dancing on top, while a vocoder played with the lyrics 'oops I didn't know we couldn't talk about seeeeeeeeex!'.

Madonna translated the relationship between Britney Spears and the press into a new version of Human Nature on the Sticky & Sweet Tour. While the screens show Britney trapped in an elevator, Madonna straps on the electric guitar to give the song a rocking ballsy make-over. Dressed in just a see-through outfit revealing her sexy black underwear, a top hat and knee-high boots, she looks as hot as she did in the original video 13 years earlier. At the end, the song's trademark line 'I'm not your ***CENSORED***' is cleverly combined with Spears' 'It's Britney ***CENSORED***!'. The pop star joined Madonna live onstage at the Los Angeles show.