I was born with the apple in my mouth
A chocolate saint in the fat man’s house
With a monkey’s ache and a papal hat
Fed promises that all broke like glass
So 'scuze me if I can’t fathom this
I wasn’t built for all your Love and happiness

I was built for splitting rails
For powder blue girls with feathered tails
For whaling ships and marking cards
And neon colored shooting bars
Like St Peter’s ghost with a ghetto frown
To hang from stop signs upside down
From a factory girl and a sailor's kiss
With hello on their skin and goodbye on their lips
So 'scuze me if I seem afraid of this
I wasn’t born for all this Love and happiness

I was raised a pilgrim’s son
Saying I’m sorry for nothing I done
To raise sons that fall and dogs that bite
And dreams that try and cheat the night
By Union men that all headed south
Waving oily rags that could ignite your house
From a traitor’s hand with a whiskey spark
And kin that fear their God and the dark
So ’scuze me if I seem afraid of this
I wasn’t built for all this Love and happiness