When

[Verse 1]
Another child
Another bullet
Another unfathomable day
Another trigger
Another reason to pull it
Another unthinkable cliche
Another tragic image of violence
Another moment of silence
Another TV news routine
A solemn leader on a screen

[Pre-Chorus]
Another family in mourning
Another pundit scorning
Another finger pointing
Another fighting over why it cannot wait
Then another dead-end debate
'Til it happens again
Again
And every time, I sit and wonder when

[Chorus 1]
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Will it ever end?

[Verse 2]
I heard this school kid talking 'bout the shooting
And he said:
"People getting shot, like, every day
That ain't never gonna change, man, you know?"
He was only twelve or so

[Pre-Chorus]
What shall I say to a child of my own?
What shall I say when they ask why?
What shall I say when she asks when?

[Chorus 1]
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Oh when, oh when will it ever end?
Will it ever end?

[Bridge]
I saw an old woman down by City Hall
She must've been seventy or more
She held a sign in one hand
A cane in the other
And she heard us singing:
"When? Oh when?"

[Chorus 2]
Then she took the mic and said:
"Oh when, oh when?
If not now, then when?
Oh when, oh when?
If not now, then when?
I've been marching a long time, and I will march again
For when, oh when?
If not now, then when?"

[Bridge 2]
What shall I sing?
Another lamentation?
What shall I sing?
Another blues inside my room?
Or shall I sing
An anthem in the street
On repeat
'Til my voice runs out
Shall I stare or shall I shout?

[Chorus 3]
Oh when, oh when?
If not now, then when?
Oh when, oh when?
If not now, then when?
Oh we, oh you
If not us, then who?
We'll try again
If not now, then when?

[Outro]
Oh when, oh when?
If not now then when?
Oh when, oh when?
If not not now then when?

Now!
Now!
Now!