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 nigger
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 nigger
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?