[Verse 1]
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

[Verse 2]
And I spent time 'neath the trestles
With the punks and the dime store saints
Kept faith and a switchblade tucked beneath my coat
And I ran with dirty angels, slept out in the rain
We were scared and tired and barely seventeen
And my first sin was a fear that made me old
My first sin was a fear that made me old

[Verse 3]
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"