"All hope abandon, ye who enter here" Said the sign i read that was hanging above her bed And the sirens all were wailing But a man can ignore the signs You gotta keep a good eye On the winding road ahead And my first sin was a young american girl And i spent time 'neath the trestles With the punks and the dimestore saints Kept faith in a switchblade tucked beneath my coat And i ran with dirty angels Slept out in the rain We were scared and tired and barely 17 And my first sin was the fear that made me old And i walked down by the shipyards Near the place where i was born Saying "ah maria, if you woulda known me when..." But she just smiles by the light on the navesink banks Saying "listen baby i know you now" And she steps into the river And i just stand by the moon Thinkin' 'bout a ghost i hear at night And she says your first sin was a lie you told yourself