I guess you have to have a problem if you want to invent a contraption First you cause a train wreck, then they put me in traction? Well, first came an action, and then a reaction But you can't switch 'em 'round for your own satisfaction Well, you burned my house down then got mad at my reaction Well, in every complicated situation of human relation Making sense of it all takes a whole lot of concentration Well, you can't blame a baby for her pregnant ma And if there's one of these unavoidable laws It's that you just can't take the effect and make it the cause, no 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 robbing Peter, but don't you blame Paul! Can't take the effect and make it the cause 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 Yeah, well, I ain't saying I'm innocent--in fact, the reverse But if you're headed to the grave, you don't blame the hearse You're like a little girl yelling at her brother cause you lost his ball, yeah 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, yes Well, you seem to forget just how this all started I'm reacting to you because you left me brokenhearted See, you just can't take the effect and make it the cause Well, you can't take the effect and make it the cause I didn't rob a bank cause you made up the law Blame me for robbing Peter, but don't you blame Paul! Can't take the effect and make it the cause