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Intro: E
verse 1
D A E
Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man,
D A E
His enemies say he's on their land.
G D A
They got him outnumbered about a million to one,
A E G D
He got no place to escape to, no place to run.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
verse 2
D A E
The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,
D A E
He's criticized and condemned for being alive.
G D A
He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin,
A E G D
He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
verse 3
D A E
The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land,
D A E
He's wandered the earth an exiled man.
G D A
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn,
A E G D
He's always on trial for just being born.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
verse 4
D A E
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized,
D A E
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.
G D A
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad.
A E G D
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
Verse 5
D A E
Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim
D A E
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him,
G D A
'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
A E G D
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
Verse 6
D A E
He got no allies to really speak of.
D A E
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love.
G D A
He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied
A E G D
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
Verse 7
D A E
Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace,
D A E
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease.
G D A
Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep.
A E G D
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
Verse 8
D A E
Every empire that's enslaved him is gone,
D A E
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon.
G D A
He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand,
A E G D
In bed with nobody, under no one's command.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
Verse 9
D A E
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon,
D A E
No contract he signed was worth what it was written on.
G D A
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth,
A E G D
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
verse 10
D A E
What's anybody indebted to him for?
D A E
Nothin', they say. He just likes to cause war.
G D A
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed,
A E G D
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed.
A D A D A D A
He's the neighborhood bully.
verse 11
D A E
What has he done to wear so many scars?
D A E
Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?
G D A
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill,
A E G D
Running out the clock, time standing still,
A D A D A D A
Neighborhood bully.
Written by Bob Dylan