I don’t really like karate

I don’t wanna hit nobody

All this talk of self- defense

I’d rather try to talk some sense

There’s a boy I know in homeroom

Other boys make fun of him

He would rather sing with the girls in chorus

Then hang out with the boys in gym

I didn’t understand the reason

When he passed me the other day

Why his lips and nose were bleeding

Why three boys ran the other way

So I followed them where they were running

To a corner of the school playground

Where the honeysuckle climbs the fences

Where there’s nobody else around

I politely asked them why they did it

I told them that it didn’t seem fair

He always helped me out in algebra

That’s what a fist came through the air

That punch caught me on my shoulder

I never had a chance to run

Three bigger boys started swinging

Three bigger boys against just one

I’m sorry that I tore my jacket

When I made the first boy slip

I’m sorry that the second ones teeth

Found their way through his bottom lip

I never meant to make the third one

Pee his brand new khaki pants

Curled up in a ball before me

I’m sorry about that circumstance

I don’t mind this week’s detention

I can look out where my classmates play

I see the singing boy head high walking

I see the other boys clear the way

I don’t really like karate

VANCE - vocal, acoustic guitar

WYNTER PINGEL - concertina