Who’s So Scared

Once riding in old Baltimore, head filled, heart filled with glee
I saw a Baltimorean, keep looking straight at me
I was eight and very small and he was no whit bigger
And so I smiled but he poked out his tongue and called me a nigga

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember

Who's so scared
Who's so scared
Who's so scared
Who's so scared

When I was fourteen I took a bus to San Francisco
I was full of hope and joy, till this girl called me a boy
But I was already on my way so frightened to be gay
Just like in 1942, the world screaming
"Something's wrong with you, Jew"

Who's so scared
Who's so scared
Who's so scared
Who's so scared

But what I discover
Lover after lover
There's nothing wrong with me
That's just a lie by society

So I start looking at the world, we have
And while it's not completely bad
There's a lot of room for improvement
People of color and the gay movement

Who's so scared
Who's so scared
Who's so scared
Who's so scared

Once riding in old Baltimore, head filled, heart filled with glee
I saw a Baltimorean, keep looking straight at me
When I was eight and very small and he was no whit bigger
And so I smiled but he poked out his tongue and called me a nigga

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember

Concerned about my own people

Won't you explain to me that pain of your life?
Won't you explain to me that pain of your life?
Won't you explain to me that pain of your life
Of your life?

Of your life