"The Crime" lyrics

I think about you when I'm trying to sleep
Who did what to you to then do that to me?
I find a glimpse of you on every street
In every white sedan, in every man I see

I watch you floating in my free drink
You're the loose thread of a "no strings" situation
A midnight altercation
I hear you echo in a "why not"
In a frat house with the lights off
In a basement

A game I wasn't playing
But still lost

The crime of being alive
The crime of catching your eye
Not being meek and polite
And smiling back at you
The crime of walking alone
Half a block from home
My scarlet letter, your stones
The pointless blood they drew
A split second of judgment
And I'm still being punished
The crime of being a woman

The color's gone but I still have the bruise
Still peeling parts of me from the sole of your shoe
I can't make sense of it, were you born with wickedness
Or was it taught to you?

My sin was that you couldn't own me
Threw a tantrum like you're owed me
Like I'm worthless
Like I'm fashioned out of your rib
Did I pay for evils of another?
For the harsh words of your mother?
In your verdict, what'd I do to deserve this?

I'm still lost

The crime of being alive
The crime of catching your eye
Not being meek and polite
And smiling back at you
The crime of walking alone
Half a block from home
My scarlet letter, your stones
The pointless blood they drew
A split second of judgment
And I'm still being punished
The crime of being a woman

It sits like a rock in my stomach
The crime that's never unpunished
The crime of being a woman