Stained Glass
Danny Schmidt Lyrics

It was thirty days til Easter when the elm tree hit the church
The tree hit the church a month before Easter

Thank God it fell on Friday cause at least no one was hurt
The falling happened on Good Friday and no one was injured

But there was fear it might delay the second coming of the lord
Some believed the incident might postpone the second coming of Christ

Cause the stained glass crucifixion was in stains upon the floor
The stained glass with a crucifixion image fell and shattered on the floor

They spent a day of cleaning and a day to board the hole
They cleaned up the mess and boarded up the hole in two days

Where the stained glass once had cast a godly light upon the fold
The stained glass previously illuminated the fold with godly light

But come the Sunday service all the faces now were gray
During the Sunday service, everyone was gloomy

And they commenced to take donations as the faithful knelt to pray
They began donations collection while the faithful were praying

But on Monday they discovered that the man who'd built the glass
They found out that the person who built the glass had already died

Was the only man in town who could and sadly he had passed
He was the only person in town who knew how to rebuild it, but he was dead

But his father who was ninety said the tools were in the shed
His ninety-year-old father said that the tools were in the shed

And he'd kindly try and resurrect the window from the dead
The father offered to rebuild the window from the tools and knowledge passed down from his son

The congregation argued, but the wise ones all rejoiced
There was a debate among the congregation, but the wise men were happy with the news

In the one hand was solution, in the other was no choice
There was only one option, but no other choices available

And they gave the man their blessings and they gave his hand a shake
They blessed the man and congratulated him

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

It was seven days til Easter and they'd seen a hide nor hair
They had not seen or heard from the person in seven days

So they came and knocked at suppertime in hopes the man was there
They came to his home during suppertime in hopes of finding him

But a banging from the basement was 'bout all that they could hear
They only heard banging sounds from the basement

And curses that might make the devil blush and wash his ears
They heard curses which were vulgar even for a devil

Come first thing Easter morning and to everyone's good grace
On Easter morning, everyone was relieved

The man was up on ladders with the window nailed in place
He worked at heights nailing the window in place

It was covered in black velvet like a hood or like a veil
The finished window was covered in black velvet material

He pulled the sheet and there it hung apocryphal and frail
He pulled off the sheet to unveil the completed window

The seams had melted jagged, they were crooked like a spine
The seams had fused in odd shapes, looking like a crooked spine

The glass was rough like hands of man against the hands of time
The glass was rough and resembled the hand-imprinted marks of aging

And there was bloodstains in the red and there were teardrops in the blue
The red parts of the window had bloodstains, and the blue parts had teardrops

He said: It may not be the best but it's the best that I can do
He admitted that the result might not be the best, but it's the best he could do

The chapel fell to silence, it was more than just surprise
The chapel became quiet - beyond surprised

As the monstrosity of color slid its tongue across their eyes
As the overwhelming colors spread through their eyes

And they shivered from exposure like babies born again
They felt shivers like newborn babies

Cause in every pane of glass was all the joy and pain of man . . .
Every pane of glass held the experiences of humanity

There was every fearful smile, there was every joyful tear
Every experience - from fearful smiles to joyful tears - was depicted in the window

There was each and every choice that leads from every there to here
All the choices that led them from there to here were portrayed

There was every cosy stranger and every awkward friend
The window depicted both close strangers and awkward friends

And there was every perfect night that's left initials in the sand
The window depicted unforgettable nights with initials left in the sand

There was every day that filled so full the weeks would float away
Days that were fulfilling enough to make weeks seem like they went by too quickly were illustrated

And there was all those days spent wondering what to do with all those days
Those days where they had nothing to do but think about what to do were also depicted

There was every lie that ever saved the truth from being shamed
The window had all the lies which once saved the truth from shame

And every secret you could ever trust a friend to hide away
Every secret that a friend kept safe was pictured in the window

There was the fortune of discovering a new face you might adore
The fortune of discovering a new face that they might adore was portrayed

And the thrill of coming home to find her clothes upon the floor
The happiness of coming home to find their lover's presence was illustrated

And the prideful immortality of children in the home
The pride of having immortal children in the home was depicted

That the storm can't grind the mountain down, it can only shift the stones
The storm may shift the stones but cannot grind down the mountain

And there was everything your mouth says that your lips don't understand
The window depicted everything said impulsively without proper understanding

And every shape inside your head you can't carve with your hands
Images that can only exist in one's mind and can't be carved were portrayed

And every slice of glass revealed another slice of life
Every pane of glass told another story of life

Emblazoned imperfections in a perfect stream of light
The imperfections became more prominent in the perfect stream of light

It all flooded through the window like rapids made of fire
All the images flooded through the window like rapids of fire

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

As the thunder and the hardwood settled back into its place
After the chaotic event, things began settling back into their normal state

God removed his veil and there were scars across his face
When God revealed himself, there were scars on his face

And some folks prayed in reverence and some folks prayed in fear
Some prayed with respect, while others prayed fearfully

As all the shades and chaos in the glass became a mirror
As the chaos in the window cleared, it became a mirror for them