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 'round our necks
People want to 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 hair shirt I wear
And this hair shirt 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 for 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 hair shirt I wear
And this hair shirt 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
I 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
Watched TV, laid awake all night

We've got these chains
Hanging round our necks
People want to strangle us with them
Before we take our first breath
Afraid of change
Afraid of staying the same
When temptation calls, yeah

This name is the hair shirt I wear
And this hair shirt is woven from
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

And 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, yeah

What a pretty girl, hey yeah

Copyright: Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Word Collections Publishing
Writer(s): Ed Robertson, Steven Page