most of the tabs on the web for this track are decent but forget the Em builds in
a couple verses as well as the correct descending chord pattern in the chorus .

steven page played the song minus the capo which are the chords presented here
while ed robertson played it with a capo on the fifth fret ( D , A , G , Bm )

barenaked ladies – what a good boy

G D Cadd9
when i was born , they looked at me and said

what a good boy , what a smart boy , what a strong boy .
G D Cadd9
and when you were born , they looked at you and said ,

what a good girl , what a smart girl , what a pretty girl .
G D Cadd9
we’ve got these chains that hang around our necks ,

people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath .
G D Cadd9
afraid of change , afraid of staying the same ,

when temptation calls , we just look away .

[ chorus ]
G D
this name is the hairshirt i wear ,
Cadd9
and this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair .
G D
this song is the cross that i bear ,
Cadd9
bear it with me , bear with me , bear with me ,
G [ ch ] F#/G [ /Ch ] Em C
be with me tonight ,
G [ ch ] F#/G [ /Ch ] Em C
i know that it isn’t right ,

but be with me tonight .

G D
i go to school , i write exams ,
Cadd9
if i pass , if i fail , if i drop out , does anyone give a damn?
G D
and if they do , they’ll soon forget
Cadd9
’cause it won’t take much for me to show my life ain’t over yet .
G D
i wake up scared , i wake up strange .

Cadd9
i wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever going to change .
G D Em
i wake up scared , i wake up strange
Cadd9 G
and everything around me stays the same .

[ chorus ]
D
. . . its the hairshirt i wear ,
Cadd9
and this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair .
G D
this song is the cross that i bear ,
Cadd9
bear it with me , bear with me , bear with me ,
G [ ch ] F#/G [ /Ch ] Em C
be with me tonight ,
G [ ch ] F#/G [ /Ch ] Em C G [ ch ] F#/G [ /Ch ] Em C
i know that it isn’t right ,

but be with me tonight .

G D
i couldn’t tell you that i was wrong ,
Cadd9
chickened out , grabbed a pen and paper , sat down and i wrote this song .
G D
i couldn’t tell you that you were right ,
Cadd9
so instead i looked in the mirror , watched tv , laid awake all night .

G D
we’ve got these chains , hang ’round our necks ,
Cadd9
people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath .
G D
afraid of change , afraid of staying the same
Cadd9
when temptation calls . . .

[ chorus ]
G D
this name is the hairshirt i wear ,
Cadd9
and this hairshirt is woven from – is woven from – is woven from hair
G D
this song is the cross that i bear ,
Cadd9
bear it with me , bear with me , bear with me ,

be with me tonight ,

G D
when i was born , they looked at me and said;
Cadd9
what a good boy , what a smart boy , what a strong boy .
G D
and when you were born , they looked at you and said;
Em Cadd9 G
what a good girl , what a smart girl , what a pretty girl , hey