[Instrumental Intro - Eerie fingerpicked acoustic, dissonant undertones] [Verse 1] Ernest tries so earnestly To tell what's real from lies But every soul he looks upon Carries sins they try to hide [Verse 2] He wasn't there the night they burned The preacher in his bed But he smells the smoke on their skin And hears screams of the damned [Chorus] Ernest tries so earnestly To ignore all that he's seen But he can't escape what lurks below He sees it in his dreams Ernest walks a righteous path In a town that's running red He knows that here in Absolution The dead never stay dead [Bridge] He thinks he's going crazy That he's lost his goddamn mind But Ernest tries so earnestly To keep doing what is right [Verse 3] The sheriff's got his father's blood Still dripping from his hands The congregation wears their guilt Like ash upon their skin [Verse 4] He sees the burnt hands reaching Through every opened door Sees the guilt they're drowning in The sins they can't ignore [Final Chorus] Ernest tries so earnestly To save them from their fate But he sees what they've been hiding And he knows it's far too late Ernest sees their demons Every ghost that won't stay gone He knows what lives in Absolution And he's known it all along [Outro] It isn't easy being earnest When you know that you've been marked When you look outside your window And see faces in the dark But Ernest tries so earnestly To pretend that there's still hope You can find him in the old saloon Drinking just to cope
