noyou wrote:
I heard in an interview with him that it was about his meeting a lady with a disease that made her grow much larger than normal (real tall, huge feet, Etc...). Not a love song at all. But definately about respect.
Peter Himmelman was interviewed on Chicago radio station WXRT several years ago and explained the origins of this song.
He met a woman in Minnesota had made significant progress in "righting societal wrongs" through a campaign of letters to legislators. The interesting part is that the woman was a quadriplegic, and could only move her eyes and eyebrows. Through the use of a computer, she was able to write letters and communicate with others. The song is a description of his meeting with her, how she still maintained a positive attitude ("There ain't nobody alive that can keep your spirit down"), was able to make more of a difference in society than anyone else at the time ("You are the woman with the strength of 10,000 men"), and how humbled he felt for being healthy and not making more of his life ("From the moment I saw your face, I knew I could never take living for granted").
It's written as an apology for letting so many days go by without making full use of them (as the subject has done). It's really a terrific song.
Peter Himmelman gave a much more eloquent explanation of the song when he was on WXRT but, it's been years, and I'm paraphrasing from memory. | 
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