Crystal Cathedral

The house is a chapel dressed up in gold
Perfume and secrets both getting old
The table's set like an altar of glass
We pray that this year the storm will pass

Mama lights candles like she's warding off ghosts
Dad makes a toast, but he drinks the most
Laughter cracks like ice in the air
And nobody says what's buried there

There's love in the room, but it's trembling thin
Wrapped up in ribbons that hide the sin

Welcome to the crystal cathedral
Where the walls are clear, but hearts are see-through
Every smile's a fragile cathedral
Built to keep the hurt from shining through
One wrong word, and the windows bleed
But we keep singing, pretending to believe
Oh, this crystal cathedral
It's beautiful until it breaks

My brother's new girlfriend says grace with her eyes
Like she can't see the truth dressed up in lies
Grandma forgets the names, thank God
She can't recall the pain she saw

The lights keep flickering, halos that fade
Over the wounds forgiveness never made
And I wonder if we gather each year
To prove that love can survive the fear

It's porcelain peace in a hurricane
We smile through mercy, swallow the blame

Welcome to the crystal cathedral
Where the walls are clear, but hearts are see-through
Every smile's a fragile cathedral
Built to keep the hurt from shining through
One wrong word, and the windows bleed
But we keep singing, pretending to believe
Oh, this crystal cathedral
It's beautiful until it breaks

Outside, the snow forgives everything
The roof could fall, and the choir would still sing
Maybe that's what faith really means
Loving what hurts, even when it stings