Ashes On The Bible Belt

[Verse 1]  
I grew up where the steeples touched the sky like begging hands,  
Where every Sunday morning felt like judgment on the land.  
Mama dragged me through those doors with hope inside her eyes,  
But I sat there like a stranger underneath those holy lights.  

The preacher talked of mercy like it flowed from every pew,  
But all I felt was fire for the things I couldn’t undo.  
I’d stare down at that Bible like it knew the things I’d felt,  
And wonder if God noticed all the ashes on the Bible Belt.  

[Chorus]  
There were ashes on the Bible Belt,  
From the bridges that I burned.  
Smoke rising from the choices  
Of a boy who never learned.  
I was too ashamed to pray,  
Too stubborn to ask for help…  
Just a sinner leaving footprints  
In the ashes on the Bible Belt.  

[Verse 2]  
I’d sneak out during sermons, light a cigarette outside,  
Watch the faithful bow their heads while I tried hard not to cry.  
I thought God wanted perfect men, not broken kids like me,  
So I hid behind my anger like it made me hard to see.  

But every hymn that drifted through those stained‑glass colored doors  
Felt like someone calling out a name I didn’t use no more.  
And every time I heard “forgiven,” something in my chest just knelt,  
Like even I belonged among the ashes on the Bible Belt.  

[Chorus]  
There were ashes on the Bible Belt,  
From the bridges that I burned.  
Smoke rising from the choices  
Of a boy who never learned.  
I was too ashamed to pray,  
Too stubborn to ask for help…  
Just a sinner leaving footprints  
In the ashes on the Bible Belt.  

[Bridge]  
But grace ain’t scared of dirt roads,  
Ain’t afraid of who you’ve been.  
It don’t wait inside a church pew —  
It walks right through your sin.  
And one night I felt a whisper  
Cut through everything I’d felt…  
“Son, I’ve been walking with you  
Through the ashes on the Bible Belt.”  

[Final Chorus]  
There were ashes on the Bible Belt,  
But they didn’t scare off grace.  
God met me in the shadows  
Where I tried to hide my face.  
And I finally dropped my pride,  
Let my hardened heart be held…  
’Cause even sinners find redemption  
In the ashes on the Bible Belt.  

[Outro]  
Yeah, I carried all that fire…  
But He carried me through hell.

Country, The darkside of Heaven, Sing Deep & Heavy Hurt, Blues