[Verse 1] There’s a white church standing on a red dirt hill, With a cross that shines when the moon stands still. Mama wore black every Sunday in June, Said the Lord took Daddy far too soon. But I heard a whisper through the chapel wall, Two shadows dancing in the fellowship hall. And the preacher’s hands shook when he looked at me, Like he knew what happened down by the creek. [Pre-Chorus] Now the town goes quiet when the daylight dies, But the truth don’t sleep just because we close our eyes. [Chorus] When the church bells ring at midnight, And the angels turn their faces to the wall, There’s a sinner in the moonlight, And a secret underneath us all. You can bury bones in the black earth, You can wash your hands in holy water, But the dead don’t rest when a heart still hurts, And the sins of the fathers find their daughters. Lord, forgive what the good Lord can’t hide, When the church bells ring at midnight. [Verse 2] There’s a rusted truck by the cemetery gate, Been sitting there since nineteen ninety-eight. And a woman in lace with a rosary bead Leaves wildflowers where the grass won’t grow green. They say she lost her mind the night he died, Said she saw him walking on the other side. But I saw her smile when the bells struck twelve, Like she knew the truth and was keeping it herself. [Pre-Chorus] Now the dogs won’t bark and the owls won’t sing, When the moon hangs low and the steeple swings. [Chorus] When the church bells ring at midnight, And the angels turn their faces to the wall, There’s a sinner in the moonlight, And a secret underneath us all. You can bury bones in the black earth, You can wash your hands in holy water, But the dead don’t rest when a heart still hurts, And the sins of the fathers find their daughters. Lord, forgive what the good Lord can’t hide, When the church bells ring at midnight. [Verse 3] I found a letter in my mother’s Bible, Tucked between the Psalms and the Book of Isaiah. Three little words in a stranger’s hand: Meet me where the river meets the land. There was a date and a name I knew, And a dried red rose from a long-lost June. Now I wear her locket and I sleep with the light, ’Cause I know why the bells ring every night. [Bridge] Maybe Heaven’s just a house on fire, Maybe Hell’s just a family choir, Singing hymns while the floorboards creak, Keeping God from hearing what the sinners speak. And if the Devil comes to claim his own, He’ll find us all in the house we built from bones. I’ll stand in the doorway, dressed in white, And tell him I’ve been waiting all my life. [Final Chorus] Let the church bells ring at midnight, Let the thunder shake the stained-glass saints. Let the guilty kneel beneath the porch light, Let the truth come crawling through the gates. You can bury bones in the black earth, You can wash your hands in holy water, But a lie don’t die when you kill the one Who carried it across the water. Lord, I’ve prayed till my knees turned white, But there’s no salvation here tonight. So let the whole damn valley hear them cry, Let the church bells ring at midnight. [Outro] One for the mother. Two for the bride. Three for the secrets We buried alive. The steeple is swaying, The moon’s burning white. And nobody’s sleeping When the bells ring at midnight. Ring, ring, ring… Lord, don’t ask me why.
