Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
They cry in the dark
So you can't see their tears
They hide in the light
So you can't see their fears
Forgive and forget
All the while
Love and pain become one and the same
In the eyes of a wounded child
Because hell, hell is for children
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess
Hell, hell is for children
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love
With your bones and your flesh
It's all so confusing this brutal abusing
They blacken your eyes and then apologize
"Be daddy's good girl, and don't tell mommy a thing"
"Be a good little boy, and you'll get a new toy
Tell grandma you fell from the swing"
Because hell, hell is for children
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess
Hell, hell is for children
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love
With your bones and your flesh
[Repeat: x3]
Hell, hell is for hell
Hell is for hell
Hell is for children
Hell is for children
Hell is for children
So you can't see their tears
They hide in the light
So you can't see their fears
Forgive and forget
All the while
Love and pain become one and the same
In the eyes of a wounded child
Because hell, hell is for children
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess
Hell, hell is for children
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love
With your bones and your flesh
It's all so confusing this brutal abusing
They blacken your eyes and then apologize
"Be daddy's good girl, and don't tell mommy a thing"
"Be a good little boy, and you'll get a new toy
Tell grandma you fell from the swing"
Because hell, hell is for children
And you know that their little lives can become such a mess
Hell, hell is for children
And you shouldn't have to pay for your love
With your bones and your flesh
[Repeat: x3]
Hell, hell is for hell
Hell is for hell
Hell is for children
Hell is for children
Hell is for children
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
My thanks to you, Pat.
the first time i heard it, i was so moved.
child abuse is sadly all too common.
i love that a star that big was willing to take a lot of crap for singing about it.
Hell Is for Children" came from an article that…I was living in New York when we wrote it and the New York Times did a series of articles about child abuse in America. I came from a really small town on Long Island and I had no idea that this existed, not in the little gingerbread place I came from. I was stunned. It affected me so much. I was moved by the articles. When ever that would happen I would write. I said to Neil [Giraldo, guitarist], ‘I want you to do something to the music that it sounds like pain. I want the intense pain that’s happening to these children in the notes,’ and so he did and it turned out just great. It became an anthem. I always wonder if other people have lofty intentions. I didn’t.