When people are mean
When people are bad
It usually means
That somewhere inside they are sad

Well, I should know
'Cause I used to be cruel
That was long time ago
Baby, before I met you

You gave me your love
And you showed me one more thing
That it's usually just a sadness inside
When people are mean

When somebody hates
A brother who is free
Well, they might be looking right at him
But still never see
Then progress gets thrown away
Like some old magazine
You see there's only so much madness to hide
When people are mean

Oh, sometimes all I wanna do
Is baby, run away with you
Forget about the world and fly away, away

But that wouldn't be real
And we can't live in dreams
We've got to learn to face the truth
No matter how hard it seems

So I wanna thank you
For showing me somethin' I'd never seen
That it's usually just a sadness inside
When people are mean

Yeah, it's usually just a sadness inside
When people are mean
When people are mean
When people are mean