Hospital for Sinners
Hospital for Sinners: Redemption Beyond Repentance
Lyrics
Anything we should know about your change?
Reflection on personal change, seeking information or acknowledgment.
Some have crosses bells that ring
Reference to religious symbols, crosses, and bells.
Most have angels painted with wings
Common religious imagery, with angels depicted.
Old men and blind ones can find their way in
Even those considered old or blind find their way into this place.
Got statues and apostles and other godly things
Mention of statues, apostles, and other religious artifacts.
In desserts they build them of mortar and clay
Desert locations constructing religious symbols using mortar and clay.
In barrios they stick them by fire escapes
In urban areas (barrios), symbols placed near fire escapes.
They outlast the setbacks of earthquakes and plagues
Endurance of religious symbols despite setbacks like earthquakes.
They burn them like haystacks and another one is raised
Symbolic burning and reconstruction of religious structures.
In the backwoods of the country and the empire state
Referencing rural and urban locations where people face choices.
Wherever there's somebody at the crossroads that waits
At crossroads, representing pivotal moments in life.
At the junction of right now and a little too late
The juncture between the present and opportunities passed.
You'll see one before you with wide open gates
An open path with gates symbolizing possibilities or opportunities.
It's a hospital for sinners ain't no museum of saints
Characterizing the place as a hospital for sinners, not a place for saints.
There could be a casket bums on the steps
Imagery of death (casket) and abandonment (baby in a basket).
A baby in a basket being left
Highlighting difficult situations, a place to go when one's luck runs out.
It's a good place to shuffle when you've gone through the deck
A place to regroup after facing challenges, akin to shuffling cards.
It's the closest to heaven on earth you can get
Describing it as the closest thing to heaven on earth.
It's a shelter a poor man it'll humble a great
A refuge for the poor and a humbling experience for the great.
It's where derelicts and outlaws can hide for a day
A hiding place for those considered derelicts and outlaws.
The worst hearts you've known can be salvaged and saved
The potential for redemption, even for those with the worst hearts.
In the same room that lovers' vows are exchanged
A juxtaposition of redemption and love in the same space.
It's a hospital for sinners ain't no museum of saints
Reiteration that it's a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.
You'll sin till you drop
Sin is inevitable, and one continues to sin until exhausted.
Then ask to be saved
The paradox of seeking salvation after indulging in sin.
If it's a comeback you want
Expressing a desire for a comeback, seeking redemption.
Then get your hands raised
A call to action, asking for acknowledgment or assistance.
There's more than a few on nearly every map
Sinners are prevalent everywhere, depicted on maps.
More than a couple alone on this path
Multiple sinners present along life's journey or path.
You ought to be in one when you beg your way back
Suggesting being in such a place when seeking a return from hardship.
Cut off at the knees at its feet you'll collapse
Visualizing a collapse or failure at the feet of this symbolic hospital.
It's a hospital for sinners ain't no museum of saints
Reiteration that it's a hospital for sinners, emphasizing its purpose.
It's a hospital for sinners ain't no museum of saints
Final emphasis on the nature of the place, not a museum for saints.
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