What a Good Boy - Lyrics - Barenaked Ladies

When I was born, they looked at me and said, "What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy." And when you were born, they looked at you and said, "What a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl." We've got these chains hanging around our necks People wanna strangle us with them before we take our first breath Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same When temptation calls, we just look away This name is the hairshirt I wear And this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair This song is the cross that I bear Bear with me, bear with me, bear with me Be with me tonight I know that it isn't right... But be with me tonight I go to school, I write exams If I pass, if I fail, if I drop out does anyone give a damn? And if they do, they'll soon forget 'Cause it won't take much from me to show my life ain't over yet I wake up scared, I wake up strange I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever gonna change I wake up scared, I wake up strange And everything around me stays the same It's the hairshirt I wear And this hairshirt is woven from, it's woven from, your brown hair This song is the cross that I bear Bear with me, bear with me, bear with me Be with me tonight I know that it isn't right... But be with me tonight I couldn't tell you that I was wrong Chickened out, grabbed a pen and a paper, sat down and I wrote this song I couldn't tell you that you were right So instead I looked in the mirror, I watched TV, laid awake all night We've got these chains hanging around our necks People wanna strangle us with them before we take our first breath Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same When temptation calls... This name is the hairshirt I wear And this hairshirt is woven from, it's woven from, it's woven from hair This song is the cross that I bear Bear with me, bear with me, bear with me Be with me tonight And when I was born, they looked at me and said, "What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy." When you were born, they looked at you and said, "What a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl."