The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser

Series: Songs of Sacrilege

  • Songs of Sacrilege: Fly From Heaven by Toad the Wet Sprocket

    This is the forty-first installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Fly From Heaven by Toad the Wet Sprocket,  an American alternative rock band.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    Paul is making me nervous
    Paul is making me scared
    Walk into this room and swaggers
    Like he’s God’s own messenger
    Change the name of my brother
    Change the things that he said
    Says that he speaks to him
    But he never even knew the man
    But I’d give my life for him

    Like water through my hands
    You’d give him any ending
    But if he’s all you say
    Would he fly from heaven
    To this world again
    To this world again

    Take whatever you’re needing
    Take whatever you can
    We are broken from within
    Run to another land

    Water through my hands
    Or is it just beginning
    But if he’s all you say
    Would he fly from heaven
    To this world again
    To this world again

    They took my brother
    They ripped him from me
    To twist his words as they did his body
    Denied his family
    Denied his beauty
    To lay him down at the feet
    Of those he couldn’t save
    Couldn’t save, couldn’t save

    Will it be the end
    Or is he still ascending
    But if he’s all you say
    Would he fly from heaven
    To this world again, to this world again

  • Songs of Sacrilege: I Ain’t Afraid by The Klezmatics

    This is the forty-second installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is I Ain’t Afraid by The Klezmatics,  an American klezmer music group based in New York City.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    Chorus
    I ain’t afraid of your Yahweh
    I ain’t afraid of your Allah
    I ain’t afraid of your Jesus
    I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your god

    I ain’t afraid of your churches
    I ain’t afraid of your temples
    I ain’t afraid of your praying
    I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your god

    Verse
    Rise up to your higher power
    Free up from fear, it will devour you
    Watch out for the ego of the hour
    The ones who say they know it
    Are the ones who will impose it on you

    Chorus

    Verse
    Rise up, and see a higher story
    Free up from the gods of war and glory
    Watch out for the threats of purgatory
    The spirit of the wind wont make a killing off of sin
    and satan

    I aint afraid of the Bible
    I aint afraid of the Torah
    I aint afraid of the Koran
    Dont let the letter of the law
    Obscure the spirit of your love it’s killing us

    I aint afraid of your money
    I aint afraid of your borders
    I aint afraid of your choices

    I aint afraid of your Sunday
    I aint afraid of your Sabbath
    I aint afraid of your teachers

    I aint afraid of your dances
    I aint afraid of your music
    I aint afraid of your children
    I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your god

  • Songs of Sacrilege: Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day

    This is the forty-third installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    [Part 1]

    I’m the son of rage and love
    The Jesus of Suburbia
    From the bible of none of the above
    On a steady diet of
    Soda pop and Ritalin
    No one ever died for my sins in hell
    As far as I can tell
    At least the ones I got away with

    And there’s nothing wrong with me
    This is how I’m supposed to be
    In a land of make believe
    That don’t believe in me

    Get my television fix
    Sitting on my crucifix
    The living room or my private womb
    While the Mom’s and Brad’s are away
    To fall in love and fall in debt
    To alcohol and cigarettes
    And Mary Jane
    To keep me insane,
    Doing someone else’s cocaine

    And there’s nothing wrong with me
    This is how I’m supposed to be
    In a land of make believe
    That don’t believe in me

    [Part 2: City Of The Damned]

    At the center of the Earth
    In the parking lot
    Of the 7-11 where I was taught
    The motto was just a lie
    It says home is where your heart is
    But what a shame
    ‘Cause everyone’s heart
    Doesn’t beat the same
    It’s beating out of time

    City of the dead
    At the end of another lost highway
    Signs misleading to nowhere
    City of the damned
    Lost children with dirty faces today
    No one really seems to care

    I read the graffiti
    In the bathroom stall
    Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall
    And so it seemed to confess
    It didn’t say much
    But it only confirmed that
    The center of the earth
    Is the end of the world
    And I could really care less

    City of the dead
    At the end of another lost highway
    Signs misleading to nowhere
    City of the damned
    Lost children with dirty faces today
    No one really seems to care

    [Part 3: I Don’t Care]

    I don’t care if you don’t
    I don’t care if you don’t
    I don’t care if you don’t care
    [4x]

    I don’t care

    Everyone is so full of shit
    Born and raised by hypocrites
    Hearts recycled but never saved
    From the cradle to the grave
    We are the kids of war and peace
    From Anaheim to the middle east
    We are the stories and disciples
    Of the Jesus of suburbia

    Land of make believe
    And it don’t believe in me
    Land of make believe
    And it don’t believe
    And I don’t care!
    I don’t care! [4x]

    [Part 4: Dearly Beloved]

    Dearly beloved are you listening?
    I can’t remember a word that you were saying
    Are we demented or am I disturbed?
    The space that’s in between insane and insecure

    Oh, therapy, can you please fill the void?
    Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed?
    Nobody’s perfect and I stand accused
    For lack of a better word, and that’s my best excuse

    [Part 5: Tales Of Another Broken Home]

    To live and not to breathe
    Is to die in tragedy
    To run, to run away
    To find what you believe

    And I leave behind
    This hurricane of fucking lies

    I lost my faith to this
    This town that don’t exist
    So I run, I run away
    To the lights of masochists

    And I leave behind
    This hurricane of fucking lies
    And I walked this line
    A million and one fucking times
    But not this time

    I don’t feel any shame, I won’t apologize
    When there ain’t nowhere you can go
    Running away from pain when you’ve been victimized
    Tales from another broken home

    You’re leaving…
    You’re leaving…
    You’re leaving…
    Ah you’re leaving home…

  • Songs of Sacrilege: 2153 by Eliza Gilkyson

    This is the forty-fourth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is 2153 by Eliza Gilkyson, an an Austin, Texas-based folk musician.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    Well their brains were quite large for their bodies
    And it lulled them into thinking they weren’t dumb
    They did guns, extreme sports, special hobbies
    And cool tricks with their fingers and thumbs.

    And they thought they would be guarantee delivered
    To some guy in Roman sandals and a beard
    So they bought and they fought and they Twittered
    By 2153 they disappeared.

    Ah, they waited for their god in vain
    Yeah they waited for their god in vain
    In the last big play of the final game
    They waited for their god in vain.

    Oh, they went for the literal translation
    Of every text and symbol sacred work and screed
    They obsessed over minor variations
    Misconstrued the truth to justify their deeds.

    And they thought that all the others were afflicted
    And those who knew the secret handshake would be saved
    And they thought in the end they’d all be lifted
    Now they’re lying in the beds that they made.

    Ah, they waited for their god in vain
    Yeah, they waited for their god in vain
    Standing with their luggage waiting for the transport plane
    They waited for their god in vain.

    Ah, they waited for their god in vain
    Yeah, they waited for their god in vain
    When they called out for their god each one used a different name
    They waited for their god in vain.

    This is all we can conclude from what’s left of their remains
    They waited for their god in vain.

  • Songs of Sacrilege: In the Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

    This is the forty-fifth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is In the Year 2525 by Zager and Evans.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    In the year 2525, if man is still alive
    If woman can survive, they may find
    In the year 3535

    Ain’t gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie
    Everything you think, do and say
    Is in the pill you took today

    In the year 4545
    You ain’t gonna need your teeth, won’t need your eyes
    You won’t find a thing to chew
    Nobody’s gonna look at you

    In the year 5555
    Your arms hangin’ limp at your sides
    Your legs got nothin’ to do
    Some machine’s doin’ that for you

    In the year 6565
    Ain’t gonna need no husband, won’t need no wife
    You’ll pick your son, pick your daughter too
    From the bottom of a long glass tube

    In the year 7510
    If God’s a-coming, He oughta make it by then
    Maybe He’ll look around Himself and say
    “Guess it’s time for the Judgement Day”

    In the year 8510
    God is gonna shake His mighty head
    He’ll either say, “I’m pleased where man has been”
    Or tear it down, and start again

    In the year 9595
    I’m kinda wonderin’ if man is gonna be alive
    He’s taken everything this old earth can give
    And he ain’t put back nothing

    Now it’s been ten thousand years, man has cried a billion tears
    For what, he never knew, now man’s reign is through
    But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
    So very far away, maybe it’s only yesterday

     

  • Songs of Sacrilege: War Pigs by Black Sabbath

    This is the forty-sixth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is War Pigs by Black Sabbath.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    Generals gathered in their masses,
    Just like witches at black masses.
    Evil minds that plot destruction,
    Sorcerer of death’s construction.
    In the fields the bodies burning,
    As the war machine keeps turning.
    Death and hatred to mankind,
    Poisoning their brainwashed minds.
    Oh lord yeah!

    Politicians hide themselves away,
    They only started the war.
    Why should they go out to fight,
    They leave that all to the poor.

    Yeah!

    Time will tell them they are Power Blind,
    Making war just for fun.
    Treating people just like pawns in chess,
    Wait till their judgment day comes.

    Yeah!

    Now in darkness world stops turning,
    Ashes where the bodies burning.
    No more war pigs have the power,
    Hand of God has struck the hour.
    Day of judgment God is calling,
    On their knees the war pig’s crawling.
    Begging mercies for their sins,
    Satan laughing spreads his wings.

    Oh lord yeah!

  • Songs of Sacrilege: St. Peter’s Cathedral by Death Cab for Cutie

    This is the forty-seventh installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is St. Peter’s Cathedral by Death Cab for Cutie.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    St. Peter’s cathedral, built of granite
    But ever fearful of the answer
    When the candle in the tunnel
    Is flickering and sputters and fading faster

    It’s only then that you will know
    What lies above or down below
    Or if these fictions only prove
    How much you’ve really got to lose

    At St. Peter’s cathedral, there is stained glass
    There is a steeple that is reaching
    Up towards the heavens
    Such ambition never failing to amaze me

    It’s either quite a master plan
    Or just chemicals that help us understand
    That when our hearts stop ticking
    This is the end and there’s nothing past this

    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this

    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this
    There’s nothing past this

    There’s nothing past this
    (There’s nothing past this)
    There’s nothing past this
    (There’s nothing past this)

    There’s nothing past this
    (There’s nothing past this)
    There’s nothing past this
    (There’s nothing past this)

    There’s nothing past this

     

  • Songs of Sacrilege: Born Secular by Jenny Lewis

    This is the forty-eighth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Born Secular by Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    I was born secular
    And inconsolable
    I heard that he walked
    He walked the earth

    God goes
    Where he wants
    And who knows
    Where he is not
    Not in me

    It’s the way
    Mothers greet their sons
    When it’s a moment too late
    It’s the law of the land
    That sometimes the dam just breaks

    God works in mysterious ways
    And God gives
    And then he takes
    From me
    From me

     

  • Songs of Sacrilege: Chocolate Jesus by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa

    This is the forty-ninth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Chocolate Jesus by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    Don’t go to church on Sunday
    Don’t get on my knees to pray
    Don’t memorize the books of the Bible
    I got my own special way
    Bit I know Jesus loves me
    Maybe just a little bit more

    I fall on my knees every Sunday
    At Zerelda Lee’s candy store

    Well it’s got to be a chocolate Jesus
    Make me feel good inside
    Got to be a chocolate Jesus
    Keep me satisfied

    Well I don’t want no Anna Zabba
    Don’t want no Almond Joy
    There ain’t nothing better
    Suitable for this boy
    Well it’s the only thing
    That can pick me up
    Better than a cup of gold
    See only a chocolate Jesus
    Can satisfy my soul

    When the weather gets rough
    And it’s whiskey in the shade
    It’s best to wrap your savior
    Up in cellophane
    He flows like the big muddy
    But that’s ok
    Pour him over ice cream
    For a nice parfait

    Well it’s got to be a chocolate Jesus
    Good enough for me
    Got to be a chocolate Jesus
    Good enough for me

    Well it’s got to be a chocolate Jesus
    Make me feel good inside
    Got to be a chocolate Jesus
    Keep me satisfied

     

  • Songs of Sacrilege: Opiate by Tool

    This is the fiftieth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

    Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Opiate by Tool.

    Video Link

    Lyrics

    Choices always were a problem for you.
    What you need is someone strong to guide you.
    Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow,
    what you need is someone strong to guide you..
    like me, like me, like me, like me

    If you want to get your soul to heaven, trust in me.
    Now don’t judge or question.
    You are broken now, but faith can heal you.
    Just do everything I tell you to do.

    Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow.
    What you need is someone strong to guide you.
    Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow.
    Let me lay my holy hand upon you.

    My Gods will becomes me.
    When he speaks out, he speaks through me.
    He has needs like I do.
    We both want to rape you.

    [x2]
    Jesus Christ, why don’t you come save my life now
    Open my eyes and blind me with your light

    If you want to get your soul to heaven, trust in me.
    Now don’t you judge or question.
    You are broken now, but faith can heal you.
    Just do everything I tell you to do.

    [x2]
    Jesus Christ, why don’t you come save my life now.
    Open my eyes, blind me with your light now.

    Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow,
    Let me lay my holy hand upon you.

    My Gods will becomes me.
    When he speaks, he speaks through me.
    He has needs like I do.
    We both want to rape you