To my great surprise I’ve got a few more words for you
I invented lots of friends and man, I miss them too
25 years on the line, I never talked to you
But maybe busy signals prove that someone’s getting through

And maybe you were too tied up to talkAnd maybe I just got the number wrong

Maybe the Jesus hypothesis is worth one more test
To find a rhythm for all there is that beats in my chest
Oh, the Jesus hypothesis, like Thomas’ best guess
Oh, like Pascal wagering with all of the doubts in my head

You’re in my head
Are you just in my head
Because you’re in my head

Maybe black sheep are not lost oh, they’re just pioneers
Just brave enough to wander off and find what’s past our fears‘
Cause to my great surprise you’ve got a few more words for me
Words like “love” and “you’re enough, if you’ve got eyes to see

That maybe I was with you all along
And for just one melody you missed the song”

About the Jesus hypothesis that’s worth one more test
To find a rhythm for all there is that beats in my chest
Oh, the Jesus hypothesis, like Thomas’ best guess
Oh, like Pascal wagering with all of the doubts in my head

It’s ironic how I saw it upside down
Like a lawyer poured into a wedding gown

Verses the Jesus hypothesis
A rhythm for all there is
The Jesus hypothesis
The Jesus hypothesis

Maybe you gotta betray what you love the most
To find out if it’s really real or if it was just a ghost
Something your mind just made up to keep you afloat‘
Cause the anchor that’s weighing you down oh, it was such an easy yoke
When you were young and hypothetical sin was all that you’d done
Oh, it was so simple then

Some life deserves death
Some guillotines, heads
Like some men deserve what they get
Some love deserves loss
Some saviors, a cross
Like some gods deserve atheists
Like some gods deserve atheists

Maybe the trouble’s I’m not reformed enough
Oh, if I am not willing to stand hammering more theses up
Just questioning what just doesn’t belong
The god that’s made up of everything we got wrong

Some life deserves death
Some guillotines, heads
Like some men deserve what they get
Some love deserves loss
Some saviors, a cross
Like some gods deserve atheists
Like some gods, they deserve atheists

And maybe we’ve been wrong two thousand years
Just like we were on the wrong side of crusaders’ spears
And maybe it’s finally time that we owned up
To demanding a god that kills his only son

Some mobs call for death
Some guillotines, heads
Like some men deserve what they get
Some love deserves loss
Some saviors, a cross
Like some gods deserve atheists
Like some gods, they deserve atheists
Like some gods, they deserve atheists

Hey Paul, it’s not that I don’t believe your story
That you saw the lord appearing in all his glory
You fell down at his feet in the middle of the street
And then you couldn’t see for a week

But say Paul, I wonder would it scandalize you
If you saw how everyone has canonized you
How every word you said was on god’s own letterhead
And his spirit was caught in your throatNow every
Pharisee must die eventually
By every word that you wrote, Paul

But hey Paul, brother don’t misunderstand me
After all, we’re so alike that it’s uncanny
We’ve said so many words about a man we only heard about
But we’ve never seen his face
And we’re both running from the men that we’d become
Before we changed our names, Paul

You’re still killing us, Paul
You're still killing us, Paul
You're still killing us

So hey Paul, if you could see would you regret it
How the law made you see yourself as wretched
Would it break your heart to know that your church won’t marry folks
Whose love it sees as a thorn
Because maybe you never knew that Jesus was loving you
Exactly the way you were born, Paul

(By accident or not)
You’re still killing us, Paul
(Maybe it breaks your heart)
You’re still killing us, Paul
(Brother, do you hear us crying out)
You’re still killing us

There was a hole in the ground where somebody found
A spark they believed could light up the world
Soon the word, it got out and people circled around
They swore they could see the face of a girl
You love it when those tears roll down their cheeks

A little bit of hope behind a velvet rope
And a twinkle in the eye of a man
And then a dash of mystique till there’s a line down the street
Oh, and you’ve got supply and demand
Just pull the curtain back so they can’t see past

The gift shop
Oh, the gift shop
Oh, when their praises ring they learn the songs they sing
Down at the gift shop

Now we gotta expand, grab a little more land
For today was born to us a business plan
We got a neon facade and a new parking lot
We got wax figurines of the lamb
But they weren’t made to stand up to the heat outside

The gift shop
Oh, the gift shop
Oh, even wise men & kings get the gifts they bring
Down at the gift shop

But when the curtain was torn, oh
You know it wasn’t to show that there something there
Oh no, it’s everywhere but the gift shop

Oh, when their praises ring they learn the songs they sing
Down at the gift shop
Oh, even wise men & kings get the gifts they bring
Down at the gift shop
I guess you cannot hold something you do not own
Behind the gift shop
I guess you cannot hold something you do not own
Behind the gift shop
I guess you cannot hold something you do not own
Behind the gift shop
I guess you cannot hold something you do not own
Behind the gift shop

Lemme start by sayin’ that I love you
Maybe even more than before
I know your face but now I see more of you
So much beauty just behind the door
You invited me in

Believe it or not, the hardest is behind you
Saying who you are and what you need out loud
But this great gift, it’s always gonna haunt you
Like a good ghost pulling you from the crowd
To places you have never been

Where sometimes boys will be girls
Sometimes armor will be pearls
What you put on oh, it shows the world how hard you’re fighting
Brother, sometimes boys will be girls

You know, they say the greatest revenge is a life well lived
So the loudest ‘fuck you’ and greatest gift that you could ever give
They are one and the same

‘Cause sometimes boys will be girls
Sometimes armor will be pearls
What you put on oh, it shows the world how hard you’re fighting
Sister, sometimes boys will be girls
Oh, boys will be girls

I heard Jesus loved and spent his life with those who
Were abandoned by proud and fearful men
So if a church won’t celebrate and love you
They’re believing lies that can’t save you or them
‘Cause you’re so beautiful by any name

You always said that there was nothing worse than making it
If every word in every single verse, you’re faking it
‘Cause the truth would ruin you and you know it
So you sabotage yourself and smile

You always knew you were the lucky one but troubled still
‘Cause on your way to anywhere you rode the rumble strip
Till you finally fell asleep at the wheel
You were aiming for the crash to wake you up

It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now

Do you believe that if you’re really saved, you’re always saved?
I’m asking for a friend whose opinion changes everyday
‘Cause once I stopped digging around for a savior
Oh, that’s when I finally found a friend

It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now

I used to think that every single good thing was in my rearview
Don’t underestimate a heart that thinks it just can’t be made new
But then you came, you spoke my name, you walked me out of the grave I made
And you loved me oh, you loved me
Oh you loved me oh, you

It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
It took too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
Too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
Too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now
Too long to get really good and grateful, but man i’m grateful now

Oh, we loaded up our guns and we sacrificed our sons
Like we were the chosen ones who would kill and would be killed to prove our love

We really knew what we knew, learned it all from watching you
‘Cause you left us all these clues, now we’re certain but there’s nothing we can prove
So we wait like a bride left on the altar of flames
Feels like time is running out

Oh, and what could we do, we did everything right, the holy spirit left like a thief in the night
The holy spirit left like a thief in the night

We received the one you sent, we believed with every cent
We built these walls with righteous hands to keep out the lie that love makes no demands
But deep down it felt like someone was cooking the books
It was not adding up

Oh, but what could we do, we did everything right, the holy spirit left like a thief in the night
The holy spirit left like a thief in the night

Amazing love, how can it be that my god should die for me
Maybe he died for everyone, like the world woke up and all his stuff was gone
Through the grief we could finally see what was left and it was everything

Oh, but what could we see, we had faith and no sight
(The holy spirit left like a thief in the night)
Oh, we loved in the dark and sacrificed in the light
(The holy spirit left like a thief in the night)
Oh, and what could we do, we did everything right
(The holy spirit left like a thief in the night)
Oh, and what could we do, we did everything right
(The holy spirit left like a thief in the night)
Oh, the holy spirit left

Maybe some things aren’t meant to be known
The secret of life just inside a black hole
You can’t know, that’s the point of it
Been looking for eternity in every wrong place
Literal lines around the gods we named
Pull the thread, tell me what is left
Lights on string, stories in your head

Oh, and like the sun
If you stare long enough you can’t see it
Oh, like the sun
If you stare hard enough you can’t see it

Layers and layers, layers and layers of half-truth
Adding up to something beyond you Like a dream, like a lover’s kiss
You know it’s real but you can’t remember it

Oh, and like the sun
If you stare long enough you can’t see it
Oh, like the sun
If you stare hard enough you can’t see it

So we tell the story all together now
Written like a ransom letter while we cut up our stories for the words
And you know despite how tight the space is
We combine and mix our faces to make a sound like we have never heard
Singing like the sun

You are like the sun, oh
Oh, you are like the sun oh, you are like the sun
You are like the sun oh, you are like the sun
Oh, you are like the sun oh, you are like the sun
You are like the sun oh, you are like the sun
You are like the sun oh, you are like the sun
Oh, you are like the sun oh, you are like the sun
You are like the sun

When I saw you dancing on the table I knew you were the one
And it was easy like spending all the money, a fist into a glove
Like pulling a thread that’s gonna mean trouble, like how you fall in love
That’s how I lost you, little by little, then kinda all at once
And like a sunset, the color is stunning right before it disappears
And I can hear it, but the music is fading that was ringing in my ears tonight

I wanna die in a car crash, maybe an airplane
Oh, I don’t wanna hear that shot that ends the whole thing
I wanna sleep in a house that’s going up in flames
Oh, I would give up the years if it meant half the pain
Oh, I don’t wanna live so long that I don’t know your name

Well, I was a fighter, a silver-tongue devil, so I know how to take a punch
I swam across the Mississippi river just tryin’ to find someone
Who would fight me but doesn’t wanna hold me up against the ropes
Who won’t hurt me like every other lover I have ever known till you

I wanna die in a car crash, maybe an airplane
Oh, I don’t wanna hear that shot that ends the whole thing
I wanna sleep in a house that’s going up in flames
Oh, I would give up the years if it meant half the pain
Oh, I don’t wanna live so long that I don’t know your name

Oh, we can get outta here oh, and we can drive in my Cadillac across state lines
Where there’s nothing for us to fear
I really hate to tell you, I feel afraid most days
When I don’t know what to say except I love you

You’ve heard it said
Oh, god spoke words if you can read ‘em
With his very breath he breathed ‘em
And only righteous men received ‘em
Till all at once he just stopped speaking
Divine decree on every page
Without error or mistake
Slavery, murder, incest, rape
For everything a time and place
Don’t trust yourself, just turn the page
You know it takes the eyes of faith
To really know what’s what

You’ve heard it said
Oh, god so loves but he’ll reject youIf you so choose he will respect you
And for all time, he’ll disconnect you
From his love and those who’ve left you
And in the skies live on without you
While the devil’s flames surround you In the place that he designed to
For eternity remind you
Of the choice that’s now behind you
Either way, I bet you’ll break a sweat

You’ve heard it said
Oh, by the time you’re born oh, it’s too late
You don’t even get a say
There’s free will but not today
‘Cause great granddad has sealed your fate
When he believed a talkin’ snake
Who deceived his perfect mate
He just took the fruit and ate
And one bad apple’s all it takes
When all humanity’s at stake
Even just a little taste
Poisons the very root

Oh, but I say into you, you’re beautiful & free

And you’ve heard it said
Oh, god made eve from adam’s rib
To help him out and raise his kids
So he could rule while she submits
And take the blame for what he did
And that’s the way that god designed it
Then the way the state defined it
Now the church won’t recognize itIf you should need to reassign it
‘Cause you’re just so sick of hiding
Somewhere between husbands, wives,
Zeros & ones

You’ve heard it said
God gave up his only son
To suffer and die for what you’ve done
Like lambs for a millennium
Oh, he hates the bullet but loves the gun
And violence is the holy way If you don’t call out his only name
Whether sinner or a saint
You’ll be held just outside the gate
So, love your neighbor everyday
But use the wrong words when you pray
And you’ll be without excuse

Oh, but I say unto you, you’re beautiful & free

Such a lovely melody
If you’re really listening
You can hear me singing
All wrapped up in righteousness rags
Baby, you’re like god in drag
Dressed up like the real thing

Oh, love is never really in a song
That’s what I believed for so long
But your love makes me strong and free and your love makes me cute
Clearly I’d do anything for you

Oh, you & I, we wished upon a star
So I don’t know who to thank for what we are
My heart is full of language but I don’t know who to call
Your timbre’s so much sweeter after all

So, from your mouth to god’s ears
Yours may be the one voice that maybe he can hear
From your mouth to god’s ears
Oh, I don’t know who’s listening but the sound of your voice changes everything

Some people wanna take me to the roof
Open up a hole and drop me through
Well, they can keep their mansions, I’ll take our house on the hill
‘Cause when I’m unlovable you love me still

So, from your mouth to god’s ears
Yours may be the one voice that maybe they can hear
From your mouth to god’s ears
Oh, it may be placebo but the sound of your voice changes everything
The sound of your voice changes everything

I know you feel uneasy about calling justice down
Who can be trusted with the vengeance of the lord
Weapons from wounds when we don’t speak 'em out
Oh, it winds up costing more oh, than we can afford

Oh, when you say you love me it sounds true
I may just believe it ‘cause it’s you
And sometimes it’s a whisper oh, and sometimes it’s a shout
But you’re the only thing I’m certain about

So, from your mouth to god’s ears
Yours may be the one voice that maybe she can hear
From your mouth to god’s ears
Such lovely intercession, the sound of your voice changes everything
The sound of your voice changes everything

Well, I should say upfront that i’m not looking for a commitment
‘Cause I’ve been hurt before by other saviors and I carry some resentment
‘Cause if you won’t interfere in our affairs, we’re free, which kinda makes me wonder
If you can answer prayers, if not, I’d love to get that god’s number
‘Cause I, I
I’m still here

Oh, I could never love what I can understand, like violence or your portrait
So maybe I was wrong, and maybe just like Job, I’m all the better for it
‘Cause I, I
Oh, I, I
Oh I, I
I’m still here

If you say I need delivering, I may be reconsidering
But I, I’ve got some questions
‘Cause there’s this thought I just can’t shake, that there’s no hell but the hell we make
So this could be heaven

Where I once paid a tax on bad behavior, I was rich and a scoundrel
And where I once used an ax oh, now I’m goin’ back with a stitch and a scalpel
‘Cause I, I
Oh I, I
Oh I, I
I’m still