E A
1. When I was nine I learned survival, taught myself not to care,
F# Bm
I was my single good companion, taking my comfort there.
G C
Up in my room I planned my conquests,
D Bm G C
on my own, never asked for a helping hand,
D G
no one would understand.
E Am
I never asked the pair who fought below,
Am - Cm – G
just in case they said “no”.
E A
2. Pity the child who has ambition, knows what he wants to do,
F# Bm
knows that he'll never fit the system others expect him to.
G C
Pity the child who knew his parents,
D Bm G C
saw their faults, saw their love die before his eyes,
D G
pity the child that’s wise.
E Am
He never asked, did I cause your distress,
Am - Cm
just in case they said “yes”.
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G F
When I was twelve my father moved out,
C
left with a whimper not with a shout.
G F
I didn't miss him, he made it perfectly clear,
C
I was a fool, and probably queer.
Cm
Fool that I was, I thought this would bring
F Cm
those he had left closer together.
G
She made her move the moment he crawled away,
Am Cm G Am Cm G
I was the last the woman told, she never let her bed get cold,
Am Cm G
someone moved in, I shut my door,
Am Cm G
someone to treat her just the same way as before.
E A
3. I took the road of least resistance, I had my game to play,
F# Bm
I had the skill, and more - the hunger - easy to get away.
G C
Pity the child with no such weapons,
D Bm G C
no defense, no escape from the ties that bind,
D G
always a step behind.
E Am
I never called to tell her all I'd done,
Am - Cm ~ F - Cm – G
I was only her son.
E A
4. Pity the child, but not forever, not if he stays that way,
F# Bm
he can get all he ever wanted, if he's prepared to pay.
G C
Pity instead the careless mother,
D Bm G C
what she missed, what she lost when she let me go,
D Bm - E
and I wonder, does she know ?
E7 Am
I wouldn't call, a crazy thing to do,
- Am Cm + G - F - C - G 3x
just in case she said, who?
