Chester
(lyrics by Tristan O'Malley)

Chester is weird. He sits at the back of the class
by the fire escape and just stares out the window.
He never has his homework done, so Mrs. Kaufman yells.
Sometimes he cries and sniffs his nose.

None of us kids like him, 'cause he's too small for sports.
At recess he stands alone.
He stands out there by the fence
and stares across at the factories.
I think he has a bad life at home.

Chester stands alone and stares across the fence,
a fragile little boy with no hope of defence.

We all have Kodiaks, with rock hard steel toes,
'cause our parents had the cash so we got 'em.
But Chester wears Cougars with floppy red tongues,
and I think maybe he has a medical problem.

It's not my fault if that's the way he is;
if I go over to his side they'll call me geek.
This is Grade 7, and you've got to be strong.
They'll kill you here if they see you're weak.

Last week his mother died (and God knows where his father is),
so they asked us not to tease him for a week at school.
He stood out there by the fence and stared across at the factory
and suddenly I felt like a fool.

He wasn't staring at the plant but at the birds above,
and very softly I heard him talking.
He knew all their names, big words in Latin,
and when he saw me he turned and started walking.

The birds they fly and they are free.