[Verse 1]
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

[Verse 2]
There's a boy I know in homeroom
Other boys make fun of him
He'd rather sing with the girls in chorus
Then hang out with the boys in gym

[Verse 3]
I didn't understand the reason
When he passed me the other day
Why his lips and nose were bleedin'
Why three boys ran the other way

[Bridge]
So I followed them where they were runnin'
To a corner of the school playground
Where the honeysuckle climbs the fences
Where there's nobody else around

[Verse 4]
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
[Verse 5]
That punch caught me on my shoulder
I never had a chance to run
Three bigger boys just started swingin'
Three bigger boys against just one

[Concertina Solo]

[Verse 6]
I'm sorry that I tore my jacket
When I made the first boy slip
I'm sorry that the second one's teeth
Found their way through his bottom lip

[Verse 7]
Never meant to make the third one
Pee his brand new khaki pants
Curled up in a ball before me
I'm sorry 'bout that circumstance

[Bridge]
I don't mind this week's detention
I look out where my schoolmates play
See the singin' boy head high walkin'
See the other boys clear the way
[Outro]
I don't really like karate