The song addresses the issues of racism and police brutality, specifically focusing on a 2015 incident at South Carolina's Spring Valley High School.

[1] The song makes many allusions to a 2015 incident at South Carolina's Spring Valley High School, where a police officer violently removed an African American student from class.

"[11] Jenkins, the band's principal lyricist, stated that the incident had hit him particularly hard due his time prior to being in Third Eye Blind, when he held a job caring for mentally disturbed children at a school.

[7] Despite this, Jenkins still asserts that the song is not meant to be "anti-police", also citing the lines "I am all for the good fight / And if the cops roll by, throw a peace sign.

"[14] New Noise Magazine described the track as the most "incendiary" song of the summer, calling the lyrics both "nightmarish and uplifting", concluding that it was "a testament to Jenkins' songwriting mastery, he still finds a way to chide hope into a dark narrative, and creates something anthemic out of viscously specific details.