[Verse 1]
They cleared the floor with folding chairs
Swept up blood and old beer stains
Pinned a sign in crooked paint
Safe house tonight, no names, no games
Mama kept the back door locked
Papa checked the window latch
Everyboard knew who could stay
And who came wrong came back in black
[Pre-Chorus]
But the night leaned hard
On that thin wood frame
A smile at the pane
And a mouth that knew my name
[Chorus]
Don’t you let them in
Don’t you let them in
Window light saints
Hold the line again
Don’t you let them in
Don’t you let them in
We been hurt before
We still stand again
[Verse 2]
Mr. Clay with the scarred-up hands
Wouldn’t meet a white man’s stare
Too much smoke in too many rooms
Too much grief living there
Ruby sang with a broken throat
About trains gone out of view
About sons who never made it home
And the red dust on their shoes
[Pre-Chorus]
Then the glass went pale
Like a dying moon
A voice soft as sugar
Said, “Baby, open soon”
[Chorus]
Don’t you let them in
Don’t you let them in
Window light saints
Hold the line again
Don’t you let them in
Don’t you let them in
We been hurt before
We still stand again
[Bridge]
They wore the face of kindness
And the shape of help
But their teeth had history
And it knew itself
Every hand that touched the frame
Carried somebody’s chain
So we named our fear out loud
And we broke the pane
[Final Chorus]
Don’t you let them in
Don’t you let them in
Window light saints
Hold the line again
Don’t you let them in
Don’t you let them in
What they took from us
Won’t get us again
[Outro]
Safe house shaking
But it’s still alive
Window light saints
We survived