All hope abandon, ye who enter here

Said the sign I read that was hangin' above her bed

And the sirens all were wailin', but a man can ignore the signs

Gotta keep a good eye on the windin' road ahead

And my first sin was a young American girl

My first sin was a young American girl

And I spent time 'neath the trestles

With the punks and the dime store saints

Kept faith and a switchblade stuffed 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 a fear that made me old

My first sin was a fear that made me old

Now I walk down by the shipyards

Near the place where I was born

Sayin' "Oh, Maria, if you'da known me when..."

But she only smiles

By the light on the Navesink banks

Sayin' "Listen baby, I know you now"

Then 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"

"Your first sin was a lie you told yourself"