She thinks life is fair and
God hears every prayer
And everyone gets their ever after
She thinks love is love and if
You work hard, that's enough
Skin's just skin and it doesn't matter

And that her friend's older brother's gonna keep his hands to himself
And that somebody's gon' believe her when she tells

But what are you gonna tell her
When she's wrong?
Will you just shrug and say it's been that way all along?
What are you gonna tell her
When she figures out
That all this time you built her up just so the world could let her down?
Yeah, what do you tell her?
What are you gonna tell her?

Do you just let her pretend
That she could be the president?
Would it help us get there any faster?
Do you let her think the deck's not stacked?
And gay or straight or white or black
You just dream and anything can happen

What are you gonna tell her
When she's wrong?
Will you just shrug and say it's been that way all along?
What are you gonna tell her
When she figures out
That all this time you built her up just so the world could let her down?
Yeah, what do you tell her?
What are you gonna tell her?

Do you tell her not to fight?
Is it worth the sacrifice?
Can you look her in the face
And promise her that things'll change?

What are you gonna tell her?
Maybe you can't
'Cause there ain't no way, you can't explain what you don't understand
What the hell do you tell her?
What the hell do you tell her?

What are you gonna tell her?
What are you gonna tell her?