[Verse 1] When did wrong become the righteous? When did right become a stain? When did knowing good from evil Get so goddamn hard to explain? There's a picture on the pavement Of someone who did no wrong, While the name of who destroyed them Gets remembered twice as long. We learn every ugly detail. Every motive, every thread. But ask us who was taken from us— We barely know the dead. [Pre-Chorus] Maybe I missed the warning. Maybe I slept right through the turn. But everything they taught us once Feels like it's been reversed. [Chorus] WHEN DID THE WORLD GET SO ASS BACKWARDS? WHEN DID WRONG START LOOKING RIGHT? WHEN DID WE START RAISING VILLAINS WHILE WE TEAR THE HEROES DOWN ON SIGHT? WE REMEMBER EVERY MONSTER, WHILE THE VICTIMS LOSE THEIR NAMES. WHEN DID THE WORLD GET SO ASS BACKWARDS— AND WHEN DID WE CALL THAT CHANGE? [Verse 2] We put the wicked in the headlines, Make their faces ten feet tall. Learn the story of the monster Till we damn near know it all. Then the people left behind them Get a photograph and date. A paragraph beneath the spectacle, Then we simply turn the page. We make legends out of monsters, Give them airtime, give them fame. Then wonder why the next one comes Still hungry for the same. [Pre-Chorus] Maybe I'm the one who's backwards. Maybe this is how things are. But shining lights upon the darkness Doesn't make the darkness stars. [Chorus] WHEN DID THE WORLD GET SO ASS BACKWARDS? WHEN DID WRONG START LOOKING RIGHT? WHEN DID WE START RAISING VILLAINS WHILE WE TEAR THE HEROES DOWN ON SIGHT? WE REMEMBER EVERY MONSTER, WHILE THE VICTIMS LOSE THEIR NAMES. WHEN DID THE WORLD GET SO ASS BACKWARDS— AND WHEN DID WE CALL THAT CHANGE? [Verse 3] We tear apart the innocent, Then search the guilty for excuses. Find a flaw in who was wounded, Find a reason for abuses. Mercy turns into forgetting. Justice twists into revenge. Truth gets bent to fit the story Till nobody knows where it ends. Now the compass won't quit spinning. Every sign points somewhere new. I'm standing at the crossroads Still trying to tell false from true. [Bridge] Maybe I am old-fashioned. Maybe good should still mean good. Maybe standing for the helpless Still means doing what we should. Maybe courage isn't hatred. Maybe kindness isn't weak. Maybe evil doesn't deserve The fucking pedestal it seeks. Maybe victims deserve remembering More than those who caused their pain. Maybe we should tell their stories. Maybe we should know their names. And if believing that is backwards— THEN ASS BACKWARDS I'LL REMAIN. [Final Chorus] WHEN DID THE WORLD GET SO ASS BACKWARDS? WHEN DID WRONG START LOOKING RIGHT? WHEN DID WE START RAISING VILLAINS WHILE WE TEAR THE HEROES DOWN ON SIGHT? I WON'T CELEBRATE THE MONSTER WHILE THE VICTIM FADES AWAY. I WON'T CALL THE DARKNESS DAYLIGHT JUST BECAUSE THE SIGNS HAVE CHANGED. IF THE WHOLE WORLD TURNS ASS BACKWARDS, I DON'T HAVE TO TURN THAT WAY. GOOD AND EVIL STILL MEAN SOMETHING NO MATTER WHAT THE HEADLINES SAY. LET THE MONSTERS LOSE THE SPOTLIGHT. LET THE INNOCENT KEEP THEIR NAMES. IF REMEMBERING WHO MATTERED MEANS I'M BACKWARDS— I'LL STAY THAT WAY. [Outro] Maybe I missed the moment When the whole damn compass changed. But I still know which way I'm facing. And I won't turn the other way.
