The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Come make your complaint to the Bootleg Saint
He's been gone, keepin' on, keepin' on for your freedom
Black boots, brown skin he has chemical roots
He's taking back the city one sinner at a time
He'll sacrifice if you pay the price
He remembers a time when everything was alright
We had water from wine, the streets were alive
Then old Captain Industry who sold his soul at Wounded Knee
Bought himself a little property
The Saint had found his enemy
He'll sacrifice if you pay the price
The laws might sleep, but they never die
Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye
He wears a ring with the brand of a three-legged dog
His rose-colored glasses cut through the fog
The laws might sleep but they never die
Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye
He came down on a storm cloud hard as the Amazon rain
Took him on, took him on and on
And you can pay your respects in the form of a check
He's taking back the city one sinner at a time
He'll sacrifice if you pay the price
The laws might sleep but they never die
Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye
The Bootleg Saint, well he walks the line
Between an everyman hero and a waste of time
He's been gone, keepin' on, keepin' on for your freedom
Black boots, brown skin he has chemical roots
He's taking back the city one sinner at a time
He'll sacrifice if you pay the price
He remembers a time when everything was alright
We had water from wine, the streets were alive
Then old Captain Industry who sold his soul at Wounded Knee
Bought himself a little property
The Saint had found his enemy
He'll sacrifice if you pay the price
The laws might sleep, but they never die
Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye
He wears a ring with the brand of a three-legged dog
His rose-colored glasses cut through the fog
The laws might sleep but they never die
Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye
He came down on a storm cloud hard as the Amazon rain
Took him on, took him on and on
And you can pay your respects in the form of a check
He's taking back the city one sinner at a time
He'll sacrifice if you pay the price
The laws might sleep but they never die
Lions for sheep, an eye for an eye
The Bootleg Saint, well he walks the line
Between an everyman hero and a waste of time
Lyrics submitted by Lake Fever
The Bootleg Saint Lyrics as written by Sam Lewis Roberts
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It sounds like its about a guy who has dedicated his life to fighting "the man"
Ol' Sam is talkin' about aboriginal people in general. Brown skin, a reference to Wounded Knee, how business and the current state affairs undermined aborginal values and now that the world is falling apart because of these conditions (global warming), he's "taking back the city one sinner at a time" when people might actually start listening again to the saint. Sam addresses underlying racial connotations of how much of the first nations have been corrupted with the distribution of "cheques" at the hands of Captain Industry. Trust me, I can analyze this song to death and bring up other references, but I'll leave this to other Sam Roberts' listeners and hopefully, they'll take the message to heart before it's too late...
"You can't set up some kind of a bootleg saint, so take my advice and cut it out. Be content with the facts you have, or think you have, and don't push anything too far–or you might get a little bit strange yourself." -- Robertson Davies, Fifth Business
bootleg -- in the sense of being illicit, or in Fifth Business' case a saint not condoned by the official church. So Sam's brought the idea into the twenty first century as something to liberate us from racism and capitalist greed