[Female – soft modern pop] I watched you at the kitchen sink Scrubbing longer than the water ran Soap and heat and repeated rinsing But the color stayed under the skin You turned your palms up to the light Looked for a clean place that wasn’t there I saw the faint red lines still tracing Every place the thorns had been [Male – rising rock] I told myself it was just the stems Just the water and the broken glass But no matter how hard I washed The proof of us refused to pass [Both – building] Your hands won’t come clean Your hands won’t come clean No matter how long you stand at the sink Your hands won’t come clean Your hands won’t come clean The stain is deeper than you think [Female] I took the towel from the counter Tried to help you dry them off But even soft cotton couldn’t hide The quiet evidence of what we cost You pulled away and kept on scrubbing Like the water might still change its mind I stood behind you saying nothing While the truth stayed right there in the lines [Male – full rock force] I’ve been trying to erase the marks Every argument and every cut But some things settle in the skin And no amount of soap is enough [Both – soaring] Your hands won’t come clean Your hands won’t come clean No matter how long you stand at the sink Your hands won’t come clean Your hands won’t come clean The stain is deeper than you think [Female – quiet bridge] Later when the house was dark I held your hand beneath the sheet Felt the places that still felt different And neither of us could pretend to sleep [Male] I wanted to say I’m sorry for the thorns Sorry for the way I held too tight But the words felt smaller than the evidence Still sitting open in the light [Both – final powerful chorus] Your hands won’t come clean Your hands won’t come clean No matter how long you stand at the sink Your hands won’t come clean Your hands won’t come clean The stain is deeper than you think Your hands won’t come clean And mine are just the same Your hands won’t come clean We’re both still carrying the name [Outro – female and male overlapping softly] Your hands won’t come clean… (Still stained) Your hands won’t come clean…
