I was born in a pool, they made my mother stand
And I spat on that surgeon and his trembling hand
When I felt the light, I was worse than bored
I stole the doctor's scalpel and I slit the cord

I was a Catholic boy
Redeemed through pain
Not through joy

I was two months early, they put me under glass
I screamed and cursed at children when the nurses passed
Was convicted of theft when I slipped from the womb
They led me straight from my mother to a cell in the Tombs

I was a Catholic boy
I was redeemed through pain
Not through joy

They starved me for weeks, they thought they'd teach me fear
I fed on cell mates' dreams, it gave me fine ideas
When they cut me loose, the time had served me well
I made allies in heaven, I made comrades in hell

I was a Catholic child
The blood ran red
The blood ran wild
I make angels dance and drop to their knees
When I enter a church, the feet of statues bleed
I understand the fate of all my enemies
Just like Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

I was a Catholic boy
Redeemed through pain
Not through joy

I watched the sweetest psalm stolen by our choir
I dreamed of martyrs' bones hanging from a wire
I make a contribution, I get absolution
I make a resolution to purify my soul

But I'm a Catholic boy
Redeemed through pain
Not through joy

They can't touch me now
I got every sacrament behind me
I got baptism
I got communion
I got penance
I got extreme unction
I've got confirmation
'Cause I was a Catholic child
When the blood ran red
The blood ran wild
And now
Now I'm a Catholic man
I put my tongue to the rail whenever I can