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