[Verse 1: Conor Oberst]
The barons of industry put inspiration on Hitler's tongue
The next century crashed hard with a loud sound like a starting gun
So it's race for acquisition and to make more things that glow
I got a knack for dodging bullets and flying zeros
So I act like I am rich, try and make it my whole look
'Cause poor people don't exist when times are good

[Verse 2: Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch]
Mozart's foster parents put cigarettes out in his ears
When he got old enough to stutter he said, "I don't listen but I-I-I can hear"
The eloquence of traffic, and the millpond's sad lament
It's a requiem of moments I just keep living through them
But where’s the monster in the closet? I can't find the hangman inside his hood
I guess evil don't exist when times are good

[Verse 3: Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch]
Doctor Oppenheimer winced when he felt the broken piece of his pacemaker
Unbuttoned his shirt on a subway platform clutching his chest while his vision blurred
He saw the bane of his creation, the destroyer of the world
Yeah, truth can lead to solace or one life long bender
It's like wading through a wasteland where a town you loved once stood
You just cry each time you think of when times were good

[Verse 4: Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch]
Napoleon's tailor dressed him in a giant hat and funny platform shoes
Saying, "Anyone can be a hero, you just got to force people to look up to you"
So if you're talking on a hotline to a suicidal soul
Don't let your voice sound like hot coffee, try for a scented pillow
And strive for understanding over being understood
Just don't let yourself forget when the times get good
When the times get good
[Outro: Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch, Gillian Welch]
When the times get good
When the times get good
When the times get good
When the times get good
When it's good