Catholic Boy
Jim Carroll Lyrics

I was born in a pool, they made my mother stand
I was forcefully brought into this world and my mother was forced to stand through the process.

And I spat on that surgeon and his trembling hand
I showed defiance towards the surgeon by spitting in their face and expressing my anger.

When I felt the light I was worse than bored
I was very dissatisfied and felt immensely bored when I was first introduced to the light of the world.

I stole the doctor's scalpel and I slit the cord
I took the doctor's scalpel and used it to sever the umbilical cord that connected me to the world before I was ready to be born.

Refrain:
Repeated chorus of the song.

I was a Catholic boy, Redeemed through pain, Not through joy
I was a Catholic boy who believed that redemption can only be achieved through pain, rather than joy and happiness.

I was two months early they put me under glass
I was placed in intensive care under a glass enclosure because I was born prematurely.

I screamed and cursed their children when the nurses passed
I was very angry and vocal when young nurses would pass me by while I was in intensive care.

Was convicted of theft when I slipped from the womb
My birth was associated with a conviction of theft even before I had the chance to commit any crime.

They led me straight from my mother to a cell in the Tombs
I was taken away from my mother right after my birth and placed in a cell in the Tombs where I was confined.

Repeat Refrain
The chorus of the song is repeated.

They starved me for weeks, they thought they'd teach me fear
I was deliberately starved in order to instil fear in me for a period of several weeks.

I fed on cellmates' dreams, it gave me fine ideas
I used the dreams of my cellmates as inspiration and fuel to escape the confinements of prison.

When they cut me loose, the time had served me well
When I was released from my confinement, the time spent in prison had been useful for me and served its purpose.

I made allies in heaven, I made comrades in Hell
Through my experiences, I had allies and comrades both in heaven and hell.

I was a Catholic child, The blood ran red, The blood ran wild
I was a Catholic child and had an unbridled passion for my beliefs, to the extent that I was willing to shed my own blood for them.

I make angels dance and drop to their knees
My faith is so strong that it invokes a strong reaction even in supposedly divine beings such as angels.

When I enter a church the feet of statues bleed
My presence in a church is so powerful that it is capable of making statues bleed from their feet.

I understand the fate of all my enemies
I understand the fate of all those who oppose me or my faith.

Just like Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
My understanding of enemies and their fate is akin to how Christ understood those who came to arrest him in the garden of Gethsemane.

They can't touch me now
No one can harm me now, as I am protected by my faith.

I got every sacrament behind me: I got baptism, I got communion, I got penance, I got extreme unction, I've got confirmation
I have performed all the sacraments of the Catholic faith and have received baptism, communion, penance, extreme unction, and confirmation.

'Cause I'm a Catholic child, The blood ran red, The blood ran wild!
I am a devout Catholic and my faith runs deep, to the extent that I am willing to bleed for it.

Now I'm a Catholic man, I put my tongue to the rail whenever I can.
I have grown up and matured into a Catholic man, and I still hold fast to the traditions of the faith, such as placing my tongue to the rail during communion.