Tom: C
Am G F C
[Verse 1]
Am
I wasn't taught how to get a job
G
But I can remember dissecting a frog
F
I wasn't taught how to pay tax
C
But I know loads about Shakespeare's classics
Am
I was never taught how to vote
G
They devoted that time to defining isotopes
F
I wasn't taught how to look after my health
C
But mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell
[Verse 2]
Am
Never spent a lesson on current events
G
Instead I studied The Old American West
F
I was never taught what laws there are
C
I was never taught what laws there are
Am G
Let me repeat—I was not taught the laws for the country I live in
But I know how Henry the VIII killed his women
F
Divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived
F
Glad that's in my head instead of financial advice
[Verse 3]
Am
I was shown the wavelengths of different hues of light
G
But I was never taught my human rights
F
Apparently there's thirty, do you know them? I don't
C
Why the hell can't we both recite them by rote?
Am
I know igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks
G
Yet I don't know squat about trading stocks
F
Or how money works at all—where does it come from?
C
How does the thing that motivates the world function?
Am
Not taught to budget and disperse my earnings
G
I was too busy there rehearsing cursive
F C
Didn't learn how much it costs to raise a kid or what an affidavit is
But I spent days on what the quadratic equation is:
Am G
Negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared
Minus 4ac over 2a
F
That's insane, that's absolutely insane
C
They made me learn that over basic first aid
[Verse 4]
Am
Or how to recognize the most deadly mental disorders
G
Or diseases with preventable causes
F
Or how to buy a house with a mortgage
C
If I could afford it 'cause abstract maths was deemed more important
Am G
Than advice that would literally save thousands of lives
F C
But it's cool, 'cause now I could tell you if the number of unnecessary deaths caused by that choice was prime
Am
Never taught present-day practical medicines
G
But I was told what the ancient Hippocratic method is
F
“I've got a headache, the pain is ceaseless
C
What should I take?”
Um... maybe try some leeches?
Am
“Could we discuss domestic abuse and get the facts
G
Or how to help my depressed friend with their mental state?”
F
Um... no, but learn mental maths
C
Because “you won't have a calculator with you every day!”
Am
They say it's not the kids, the parents are the problem
G
Then if you taught the kids to parent that's the problem solved then!
F
All this advice about using a condom
C
But none for when you actually have a kid when you want one
Am
I'm only fluent in this language, for serious?
G
The rest of the world speaks two, do you think I'm an idiot?
F
They chose the solar over the political system
C
So like a typical citizen now I don't know what I'm voting on
Am
Which policies exist, or how to make them change
G
Mais oui, je parle un peu de Francais
F
So at 18, I was expected to elect a representative
C
For a system I had never ever ever been presented with
[Chorus]
Am
But I won't take it
G
I'll tell everyone my childhood was wasted
F
I'll share it everywhere how I was “educated”
C Am
And insist these pointless things don't stay in school
[Outro]
G F C
Am G F C
