I'm not the one who made the world what it is today
I'm not the one who caused the problems started long ago
But now I deal with all the consequence that troubles our times
I carry on and never once have even questioned why

Yeah, I'm innocent, the weight of the world is on my shoulders
Yeah, I'm innocent, the battles started are far from over, yeah, oh

We're not the ones who leave the homeless in the streets at night
We're not the ones who've kept minorities and women down
Still we grow and then the problems they become our own
We carry on without even realizing why

Yeah, we're innocent, the weight of the world is on our shoulders
Yeah, we're innocent, the battles left us are far from over, yeah, oh

Yeah, we're innocent, the weight of the world is on our shoulders
Yeah, we're innocent, the battles left us are far from over
Yeah, we're innocent, the weight of the world is on our shoulders
Yeah, we're innocent, the battles left us are far from over, yeah

We're not the ones whose pollution blackened our skies and ruined our streams
We're not the ones who made the nuclear bombs that threaten our lives
We're not the ones who let the children starve in faraway lands
We're not the ones who made the streets unsafe to walk at night

And even if we try and not become so overwhelmed
And if we make some contribution to the plight we see
Still our descendants will inherit our mistakes of today
They'll suffer just the same as we and never wonder why


Lyrics submitted by spitfirek7

Not the One Lyrics as written by Bryan Holland

Lyrics © ROUND HILL CARLIN, LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Not The One song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    Great song...in my top 5. Why isn't this song more popular than what it is?

    Tbone732on July 18, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yeah, it's a great song. the meaning's pretty obvious, like in many songs, but that helps it be more understood, i think

    SirNitroon April 20, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's an OK song, but some lines are just ridiculous. "We're not the ones who leave the homeless in the streets at night"?

    Regos the Saneon April 29, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's about how fucked up the world is and how the youth is blamed for a lot of the problems in it. this song goes off on a tangent about how its not us young people's fault that all this bad crap happens. (the damn gov should help, after all.)

    epp88on May 29, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Self explanatory... I love the lyrics, but the tune isn't all that great. Kinda sounds like it was bluntly squeezed into the music, if that makes any sense.

    crimsonlotuson March 06, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think this is a simply amazing song. goes along perfectly with all of the offspring's other material the amazing, and yet simple bass line, and the common theme of how our elders dont deserve nearly all the respect they demand. this song is all about how the past generations have caused so many problems and have pretty much destroyed the world and now us kids have to deal with it. i know its pretty obvious but the point of this site is to say what we think songs mean, not to just say that they have a meaning.

    Depth Sunon June 10, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i like this song because the meaning, though obvious as crap, is how a lot of people today feel. look at the global warming debate. and the stupid wars in the middle east. our world is going to hell and this song shows how people dont like the fact that they cant stop it and they are forced to be a part of it

    tonedef2356on March 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song reminds me a lot of "i want to conquer the world" by bad religion.

    sake bottle swingon April 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Back in the day, when I heard this song for the first time(s), I heard "We're not the ones who let the children starve in faraway lands" as "We're not the ones who let the children see tomorrow and laugh."

    Big Nihilon April 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    After the presidency that is known as Bush, this song is extremely relevant.

    We the People is no longer. It's simply "We the Chairman of insert corporation here"

    Excellent song. What it lacks in musical and vocal polish, it makes up for in lyrical content and intent.

    XBFNoodleson August 05, 2008   Link

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