[Verse 1]
I guess you have to have a problem if you want to invent a contraption
First you cause a train wreck
And then you put me in traction
Well, first came an action
And then a reaction
But you can't switch ’em around for your own satisfaction
Well, you burnt my house down, then got mad at my reaction

[Verse 2]
Well, in every complicated situation of a human relation
Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lotta concentration
Well, you can't blame the baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there’s one of these unavoidable laws
It's that you can't just take the effect
And make it the cause
No

[Chorus]
Well, you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
Because you made up the law
Blame me for robbin' Peter
But don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause
[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
I ain’t the reason that you gave me, no reason to return your call
You built a house of cards and got shocked when you saw them fall
Well, I ain’t saying I'm innocent
In fact, the reverse
But if you’re heading to the grave, you don't blame the hearse
You're like a little girl yellin' at her brother ’cause you lost his ball

[Verse 4]
Well you keep blaming me for what you did
But that ain't all
The way you clean up a wreck
Is enough to give one pause
Well, you seem to forget just how this whole song started
I'm reactin' to you because you left me brokenhearted
See, you just can't just take the effect
And make it the cause

[Chorus]
Well, you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
Because you made up the law
Blame me for robbin' Peter
But don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause