[Intro] [Haunting pedal steel, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, distant church bells, soft female humming] Innocence should never be a test, But the devil wears his Sunday best [Verse 1] He had a Bible on the dashboard And a silver cross around his neck Said the Lord had made him different I believed him, I confess He could quote the Book of Matthew He could make a sinner pray Then he’d kiss me in the shadows And deny me in the day [Pre-Chorus] He said, “Darling, don’t you worry God forgives the things we do” Funny how the Lord was listening When it suited him to [Chorus] Black lace and baptism water White lies running down my skin He played the saint, I played the martyr While the whole town let him win He left me standing at the altar With a heart he called unclean Now he’s preaching about salvation In the church that buried me Black lace and baptism You can’t wash away everything [Verse 2] He was gone before the leaves fell Left a letter by my door Said I’d tempted him with wickedness He couldn’t fight no more By the spring, he’d found religion By the fall, he’d found a wife And the women who once held me Wouldn’t look me in the eye [Pre-Chorus] Every Sunday, they would praise him Every Sunday, I’d turn away Till I heard he’d built a pulpit Where my name was once a shame [Chorus] Black lace and baptism water White lies running down my skin He played the saint, I played the martyr While the whole town let him win He left me standing at the altar With a heart he called unclean Now he’s preaching about salvation In the church that buried me Black lace and baptism You can’t wash away everything [Bridge] [Music strips back to piano, heartbeat-like kick drum, whispered backing vocals] I’ve got letters in a shoebox I’ve got dates and names and proof Of the money paid to silence me And the girl he blamed it on wasn’t you So ring the bells and call the faithful Let the congregation come I’ve been quiet for a lifetime Now the reckoning’s begun [Breakdown] [Church bells toll, choir whispers “Amen”] You called me fallen You called me damned But I know the truth And I know who I am [Final Chorus] [Full drums, soaring country-pop production, powerful gospel choir] Black lace and baptism water Watch his halo hit the ground He played the saint, I brought the truth And now the whole world’s looking round He left me standing at the altar Now he’s begging on his knees While I’m walking through those church doors Like the woman I was meant to be Black lace and baptism Let the whole town hear me sing [Outro] [Pedal steel cries, choir fades, one final church bell] He wore his Sunday shoes to heaven But he won’t be walking in Black lace… And baptism.
