[Intro | rain, tape hiss, distant radio static, low organ drone] [Lead | spoken low, preacher-like] Bring the wire. Bring the water. Bring the ones who want to hear. [Choir | distant, ghostly] Bring them down... Bring them near... [Verse 1 | deep contralto female lead | low piano, dusty drums] They took me out past the county line Where the blacktop lost its name There was a tower in the empty field Humming softly in the rain Mama said don’t touch the current Preacher said don’t close your eyes But I heard something in the speaker Sounding almost like divine [Choir | soft response] Almost like divine... [Verse 2 | smoky, restrained, blues-gospel phrasing] They had a basin full of river mud And a screen that burned in white They said, child, if you want forgiveness You must give the dark a light I laid my hands on the copper Felt the thunder in my bones Then the dead air started singing In a voice that knew my own [Choir | growing] Knew my own... Knew my own... [Pre-Chorus | handclaps enter, tension rising] Oh, the water didn’t save me No, the prayer did not behave There was something in the static Calling softly from the grave [Choir | call and response] Calling softly... From the grave... [Chorus | dark gospel swell, heavy sub-bass, ghost choir] Wash me in the white noise Hold me under till I change Let the signal pass through my body Let it burn away my name Static baptism Dead air in my lungs I went down as somebody Came back speaking in tongues [Choir | big, haunted] Static baptism... Speaking in tongues... [Verse 3 | drums deeper, organ cracked, lead more intense] Now my shadow moves behind me Half a second out of time And the radio beside my bed Breathes between the station lines I hear hymns in broken weather I hear bells inside the walls When the storm comes through the valley I can feel the tower call [Choir | ominous response] Feel the tower call... [Verse 4 | half-sung, half-preached] They said sinner, are you frightened? I said no, I’m finally clean But my mouth was full of thunder And my eyes were full of screen Every saint becomes a circuit Every prayer becomes a wire Every body wants a heaven Till the heaven wants a choir [Choir | sharper, closer] Heaven wants a choir... [Pre-Chorus 2 | rising, handclaps heavier] Oh, the water didn’t save me No, the hands could not let go There was mercy in the static But it wore my voice like clothes [Choir | response] Wore my voice... Like clothes... [Chorus | bigger, corrupted revival energy] Wash me in the white noise Hold me under till I change Let the signal pass through my body Let it burn away my name Static baptism Dead air in my lungs I went down as somebody Came back speaking in tongues [Choir | big, mournful] Static baptism... Speaking in tongues... [Bridge | stripped down, low piano and static only] [Lead | intimate, almost whispered] If you hear me through the floorboards If you hear me through the rain Do not answer when I call you I don’t call with just one name [Choir | very soft] Not one name... Not one name... [Lead | building] I have worn a thousand voices I have swallowed every hymn I was washed in holy static Now the signal lets me in [Choir | swelling] Lets her in... Lets her in... [Final Chorus | full choir, distorted organ, heavy handclaps] Wash me in the white noise Hold me under till I change Let the signal pass through my body Let it burn away my name Static baptism Dead air in my lungs I went down as somebody Came back speaking in tongues Wash me in the white noise Tell the tower I belong If the choir starts singing backward Do not try to sing along [Choir | huge, corrupted, fading into static] Static baptism... Dead air in her lungs... Static baptism... Speaking in tongues... [Outro | organ decays, rain and radio hiss] [Lead | spoken, low] I was not saved. I was received. [Choir | distant] Received... Received... Received...
