C                                      Am
I'm afraid of the social laziness that let Kitty Genovese die.
        Dm                 G                    C
And I'm afraid of the mob mentality that makes otherwise normal people go blind.
    C                                               Am
I'm afraid of the way that the world works and I'm afraid of the words in my notebooks.
    Dm                     G              C
I'm afraid that you all know that I am a pervert.

[Chorus I]
                F                         G
But the big red bird that lives under the city
        Am          C                          F
doesn't give a damn about me and it dies every night.
           Fm
By burning alive.


[Verse II]

    C
I'm afraid of my grandfathers cancer.
        Am
And I'm afraid of my mom's dying arm.
    Dm                        G                C
I'm afraid that I've somehow caused my family harm.

    C                                       Am
I'm afraid that the ones I love won't have enough.
    Dm                      G                C
I'm afraid that the ones I love won't have enough.


[Bridge/Chorus II]

     F            G                Am
It's harder to be yourself than it is to be anybody else.
F               G                Am (Asus2)
I wish I were a little less of a coward
        (Am)     F                         G
but the big red bird that lives under the city
        Am            C                        F
doesn't give a damn about me and it dies every night.
              Fm
So I bought a knife.
       C         Am       F      C
I am a knife.