Be Afraid

Be Afraid

Of the people over here

         And the people over there,

                  The dark-skinned mother,

                           And your own blood brother,

                                    Of the red

                                            In your bed, 

                                                   And people everywhere.

Be afraid     

         Of your shadow

                  And kids in Colorado

                           Who might be packing guns,

                                    Of the man with the beard

                                             And people looking weird,

                                                      Of the graveyard ghosts

                                                               And the people on the Coast,

                                                                        Be afraid of the nuns!

Be afraid

         Of the short and afraid of the tall,

                  Of just about any damn one at all                                  

                           Who doesn’t look like you,

                                    And doesn’t cook like you,

                                             Doesn’t drink like you,

                                                      And doesn’t think like you.

                           Trust only in the Lord,

         And the brute in the suit

                  Pointing his finger

                           At the people over there,

                                    And the people over here

                                             At the straight and the queer

                                                      And people everywhere,

                                                               Telling you

                                                                        Ya gotta,

                                                                                 Ya gotta

                           Ya gotta be afraid,

                                    Ya gotta be afraid,

                                           Ya gotta be very, very afraid.