Effect and Cause
The White Stripes Lyrics

I guess you have to have a problem if you want to invent a contraption
If you have an issue in need of fixing, you must first come up with a solution or invention to do so.

First you cause a train wreck, then they put me in traction
You caused a disaster that resulted in me needing medical attention.

Well, first came an action and then a reaction But you can't switch around for your own satisfaction
Every action has a reaction, but it's not fair to change the order of events to fit your own desires.

Well, you burnt my house down and got mad at my reaction
You destroyed my house and then blamed me for my natural reaction of anger and frustration.

Well, in every complicated situation of a human relation Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lot of concentration
Understanding complex relationships requires a lot of focus and effort.

Well, you can blame her 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
You cannot blame a child for their parent's actions, and you cannot use the result of an action as the reason for that action.

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; don't you blame Paul Can't take the effect and make it the cause
You cannot use the result of an action to justify that action. Specifically, you can't blame someone for a crime they did not commit and use an unrelated law as the reason either.

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
I didn't ignore your calls just because; you gave me no reason to answer them. Also, your actions caused your problems; don't be surprised when you receive the consequences.

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
I'm not claiming innocence, but you can't blame others for your own mistakes. It's like blaming a vehicle for your death instead of your driving. You're acting like a child throwing a tantrum over a game.

Well, you keep blaming me for what you did, but that ain't all The way you clean up the wreck is enough to give one pause Well, you seem to forget just how this all started I'm reacting to you because you left me broken-hearted See, you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
You keep putting the blame on me for your actions, but your effort to fix the damage is questionable. You're forgetting that your actions caused this mess, and I'm reacting to my heartbreak. Once again, you cannot use an action's result as the reason for the action.

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
The same message from before; you can't justify an action using its result. You can only blame someone for their own mistakes, not for someone else's, and you can't use a made-up reason to justify it either.