Grimes County Beauty

(Verse 1)

Just a couple of hundred fence posts in a line

Separated Henry from Emma in their prime

In Grimes County, Texas, back in nineteen-fifteen

Coming from good German stock, sturdy and clean

Staunch Lutheran's following the narrow Truth

He was ten months older, in the strength of his youth

At ninety pounds heavier than she’d ever be

Emma never stood a chance, as anyone could see.

(Verse 2)

With flaming red curls and eyes of bright blue

Like a flock of golden-cheeked warblers, Emma's voice rang true

She was the local beauty, the dream of the town

But seventeen-year-old girls wear foolish crowns

And Emma was no different in her innocent play

While Henry was raised in a much harsher way

To think "like a man," that women were a gift

For pleasure or labor, or a soul to set adrift.

(Chorus)

They said it was God’s will

She got what she deserved

For being so damn beautiful

Judgment was served

God’s will for being young and naïve

Within the web of tradition the lies started to weave

It didn’t matter that it was against her will

It was God’s will, they said, and the town stood still

Because it was God's will.

(Verse 3)

She flirted with fire and unleashed a demon

And Henry decided he’d find his own reason

So he raped her into motherhood, marriage, and shame

While the "good people" whispered and blackened her name

In small-town Navasota, the contempt never ends

Between cold pews and the fair-weather friends

Emma was trapped in a life that she didn’t choose

With everything to give and... everything to lose.

(Chorus)

They said it was God’s will

She got what she deserved

For being so damn beautiful

Judgment was served

God’s will for being young and naïve

Within the web of tradition the lies started to weave

It didn’t matter that it was against her will

It was God’s will, they said, and the town stood still

Because it was God's will.

(Bridge)

When her belly started growing, her daddy's shotgun was near

No white dress or laughter, just trembling and fear

The "pious" folk forced her down to her knees

To confess to her "wanton and lustful" deeds

While they slapped smug-faced Henry hard on the back

For "winning" the beauty that the other men lack

A "stalwart of decency," they called him that day

While they signed Emma’s soul and her freedom away.

(Chorus)

They said it was God’s will

She got what she deserved

For being so damn beautiful

Judgment was served

God’s will for being young and naïve

Within the web of tradition the lies started to weave

It didn’t matter that it was against her will

It was God’s will, they said, and the town stood still

(Outro)

In Grimes County, 1915, the sun’s going down

On the prettiest girl in a heartless town

They said it was God’s will

God’s will

Yeah, they said it was God’s will

God’s will

Against her will... her fate was sealed.