Folks call me a maverick   Guess I ain't too diplomatic   I just never been the kind to go along   Just avoidin' confrontation   For the sake of conformation      And I'll admit I tend to sing a different song   But sometimes you just can't be afraid   To wear a different hat   If Columbus had complied   This old world might still be flat      Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained   Sometimes you've got to go against the grain      Well, I have been accused   Of makin' my own rules   There must be rebel blood   Just a-runnin' through my veins   But I ain't no hypocrite      What you see is what you get   And that's the only way I know   To play the game   Old Noah took much ridicule   For building his great ark   But after forty days and forty nights   He was lookin' pretty smart      Sometimes it's best to brave the wind and rain   By havin' strength to go against the grain      Well, there's more folks than a few   Who share my point of view   But they're worried   If they're gonna sink or swim   They'd like to buck the system   But the deck is tacked against ?em      And they're a little scared   To go out on a limb   But if you're gonna leave your mark   You can't follow like a bunch of sheep   You got to listen to your heart      Go bustin' in like old John Wayne   Sometimes you got to go against the grain   Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained   Sometimes you've got to go against the grain