[Dark fingerpicked acoustic intro] [Verse 1] I wear a star upon my chest Took an oath to serve the law But there's a body in the churchyard And corruption in my heart [Verse 2] They came to me on Sunday With rope burns on their hands Said "Sheriff, we did what we had to" And I said "I understand" [Chorus] There's a difference between holy and just Between the law and what is right I cut down a hanged man at dawn And buried him by candlelight The star upon my chest is heavy I hear the noose creak in my dreams Sometimes what's righteous ain't legal And nothing's ever what it seems [Verse 3] There's bodies buried 'neath this town Secrets older than the dirt I've been covering up the sins of man But I know what peace is worth [Verse 4] Over there's a drunken son-in-law Who used his fists and ruled with fear Beneath the elm in the churchyard Lies the loan shark who "disappeared" I know where all the bodies are Where every sin is kept I got gravedirt beneath my fingernails And their ghosts won't let me rest [Chorus] There's a difference between holy and just Between the law and what is right I cut down a hanged man at dawn And buried him that night The star upon my chest is heavy The noose still swings in my dreams Sometimes what's righteous ain't legal And people ain't what they seem [Bridge] I tell myself it wasn't murder It's justice finally served But late at night I hear them calling Saying that I'm cursed [Final Chorus] There's a line between holy and just I crossed it in the dark Now I drink away the difference With this star upon my heart I had to choose between the badge And doing what was right So I cut down a hanged man at dawn And he haunts me every night [Outro] The town sleeps easy now They don't ask where the bodies are But I see their shadows in the churchyard Every single dawn Every single dawn
