This song is about the disturbing frequency with which police officers in America shoot unarmed black people.

******

I’d like to light a candle
for the kids who don’t come home
lives cut much too short
just reaching for their phones

I’d like to take a stand now
for the people who have died
the parents they have left behind
the siblings that have cried

And they’ll light up their crosses
with the fires from the riots
and go back to their day jobs
still pretending to be pious

But we all know the truth
And we won’t let it go unsaid
You’re the reason that these children are all dead
Oh Yes
You’re the reason that these children are all dead

I’d like to light a candle
for the kids who don’t come back
The ones who fucked up all the time
And the ones who were on track

Because it doesn’t really matter
The way they lived their lives
Because not a god-damned one of them
Has deserved to die

And they’ll light up their crosses
with the fires from the riots
and go back to their day jobs
still pretending to be pious

But we all know the truth
And we won’t let it go unsaid
You’re the reason that these children are all dead
Oh Yes
You’re the reason that these children are all dead
And we know
You’re the reason that these children are all dead