Em
I still see my brother Michael
            C                                   G
Pressed and polished, shaking hands down at the store
     Em
Everybody'd come to see the all-star
C                              G
Hop the greyhound bus to go to war
   D                                C
He punched me in the arm to say goodbye
           D                                C
It was the first time that I saw our father cry


[Verse 2]
       Em
I kept all my brother's letters
        C                          G
Tied in ribbon in a box beneath my bed
      Em
Every night I read by flashlight
         C                         G
With the covers in a tent above my head
    D                                C      D
His words said, "Not to worry, doing fine"
                                    C     D
It was his way of trying to ease my mind
                                           C   G/B  Am
While I was trying not to read between the lines___


[Chorus]
                  G                  C
The weight of the world, too heavy to lift
           G               D
So much to lose, so much to miss
                    Em                    C
And it doesn't seem fair that an innocent boy
               F    C                  G
Should have to carry the weight of the world


[Verse 3]
            Em                            C
Then it was football games and homecoming
                                G
Picking out our dresses for the prom
        Em
With my brother in some desert
        C                              G
Dodging bullets when he wasn't dodging bombs
      D                                 C      D
While we went from the land of brave and free
                            C
To just being afraid to disagree
      D                           C     G/B  Am
While I was being brought down to my knees


[Chorus]
                  G                  C
The weight of the world, too heavy to lift
           G               D
So much to lose, so much to miss
                    Em                    C
And it doesn't seem fair that an innocent boy
               F    C                  G
Should have to carry the weight of the world


[Verse 4]
           Em
It was the middle of December
         C                            G
When the Army sent my brother home at last
        Em                             C
And the flagpole on the football field
                                  G
Flew the colours halfway down the mast
    D                          C            D
The wind blew cold and snow was coming down
                                   C
Still everybody turned out from our town
      D                             C    G/B  Am
As we laid my brother in that frozen ground


[Chorus]
                  G                  C
The weight of the world, too heavy to lift
           G                 D
So much was lost, so much was missed
               Em                         C
And it doesn't seem fair that an innocent boy
               F    C                  G
Should have to carry the weight of the world
               F    C                  G
Should have to carry the weight of the world