once riding in old baltimore, head filled
heart filled with glee
i saw a baltimorean keep looking straight at me
now i was eight and very small
and he was no whit bigger
and so i smiled but he poked his tongue out and called me 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

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 1942 (1492) the world screaming
"something's wrong with you, jew"

who's so scared

but what i discover, lover after lover
there's nothing wrong with me
that's jys 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

won't you explain to me the pain of your life