It was thirty days til Easter when the elm tree hit the church

Thank God it fell on Friday cause at least no one was hurt

But there was fear it might delay the second coming of the lord

Cause the stained glass crucifixion was in stains upon the floor



They spent a day of cleaning and a day to board the hole

Where the stained glass once had cast a godly light upon the fold

But come the Sunday service all the faces now were gray

And they commenced to take donations as the faithful knelt to pray



But on Monday they discovered that the man who'd built the glass

Was the only man in town who could and sadly he had passed

But his father who was ninety said the tools were in the shed

And he'd kindly try and resurrect the window from the dead



The congregation argued, but the wise ones all rejoiced

In the one hand was solution, in the other was no choice

And they gave the man their blessings and they gave his hand a shake

And they gave him all the coins they had collected on their plate



It was seven days til Easter and they'd seen a hide nor hair

So they came and knocked at suppertime in hopes the man was there

But a banging from the basement was ‘bout all that they could hear

And curses that might make the devil blush and wash his ears



Come first thing Easter morning and to everyone's good grace

The man was up on ladders with the window nailed in place

It was covered in black velvet like a hood or like a veil

He pulled the sheet and there it hung apocryphal and frail



The seams had melted jagged, they were crooked like a spine

The glass was rough like hands of man against the hands of time

And there was bloodstains in the red and there were teardrops in the blue

He said: It may not be the best but it's the best that I can do



The chapel fell to silence, it was more than just surprise

As the monstrosity of color slid its tongue across their eyes

And they shivered from exposure like babies born again

Cause in every pane of glass was all the joy and pain of man



There was every fearful smile, there was every joyful tear

There was each and every choice that leads from every there to here

There was every cozy stranger and every awkward friend

And there was every perfect night that's left initials in the sand

There was every day that filled so full the weeks would float away

And there was all those days spent wondering what to do with all those days

There was every lie that's ever saved the truth from being shamed

And every secret you could ever trust a friend to hide away

There was the fortune of discovering a new face you might adore

And the thrill of coming home to find her clothes upon the floor

And the prideful immortality of children in the home

That the storm can't grind the mountain down, it can only shift the stones

And there was everything your mouth says that your lips don't understand

And every shape inside your head that you can't carve with your hands

And every slice of glass revealed another slice of life

Emblazoned imperfections in a perfect stream of light

It all flooded through the window like rapids made of fire

And then God rode through on sunshine and sat down cause he was tired

He was tired



As the thunder and the hardwood settled back into its place

God removed his veil and there were scars across his face

And some folks prayed in reverence and some folks prayed in fear

As all the shades and chaos in the glass became a mirror