[Verse 1] They wiped the blood right off the headline page Smoothed the edges, cleaned the rage Put a smiling face on a burning town Turned the sirens low and the volume down The preacher on the TV said “Sleep real good in your bed tonight” While shadows danced behind his eyes Like wolves hiding from the light [Pre-Chorus] They bleach the words till they lose their sting Dress up the truth like a broken king [Chorus] Sanitize the truth Polish every lie Spray perfume on the smoke While the whole damn hillside dies They wash their hands in holy rain And call it peace again Sanitize the truth Till nobody feels a thing [Verse 2] A mother cries in a photograph But they crop the tears out by half A shaking voice gets cut from air Too inconvenient to leave it there The suits all nod in perfect rows Like dashboard dogs in a hurricane Everybody talks real soft While standing knee-deep in the pain [Pre-Chorus] They sterilize what we’re allowed to know Paint bright colors on a rotten show [Chorus] Sanitize the truth Polish every lie Spray perfume on the smoke While the whole damn hillside dies They wash their hands in holy rain And call it peace again Sanitize the truth Till nobody feels a thing [Bridge] [Half-time feel, darker groove] Ain’t no dirt left on the screen No fingerprints, no gasoline Just clean white gloves and a camera smile Marching us another mile [Instrumental Break] [Roots-rock guitar solo with emotional bends and loose swagger] [Final Chorus] Sanitize the truth Make it safe to sell Wrap it in a velvet flag And ring the victory bell But somewhere underneath the shine The stains still bleed through thin white lines Sanitize the truth But the ghosts still scream at night [Outro] [Loose, weary gang vocals] “Everything’s alright now…” “Everything’s alright…”
