Holy Ghost

I'll take a stab at it, then....

I've always interpreted this as a religious man, seeing a woman who he regards as 'immoral' sexually, and yet being strangely attracted to her.

Like a battle between his conservative, religious side and his raw physical/sexual side.

Taken from the lyrics booklet (minor corrections):

You were writhing on the floor Like a moth in molasses Who ever taught you to move your body like that? Goose pimpled, yelled Spanish Like some out of date acid Who ever taught you to scream like that?

Maybe someday I could move like you But I'm not looking for a holy ghost. Maybe someday I can scream like you But I'm not looking for a holy ghost.

You were crying on the shoulders Of the men in the shadows Who ever taught you to sell your sex like that? I'm thinking through halos In a stained glass window "Jesus, strangers are as strange as that"

Maybe someday I could move like you But I'm not looking for a holy ghost. Maybe someday I can scream like you But I'm not looking for a holy ghost

The story sounds like a man with a crazy prostitute. Asking himself how she does what she does. And He’s crying like he isn’t looking for something. But obviously he is. He is looking for love, not sex. Looking for meaning, not mindless. Looking for his soul. But he knows he’s looking in the wrong place. He wants her to be something more. But you know he’s just lost. Brilliant!

The outro lyrics are "One of us, one of us, you could be one of us", and I think "I got good news, I've got the good news".

The lyric context is clearly religious, and "writhing on the floor" is certainly a reference to somebody shaking from "the power of the holy spirit" which is a thing in some fundamentalist churches, and the screaming is probably a reference to "speaking in tongues".

The "you" of the lyrics is clearly somebody using their supposed deep faith and visions to manipulate people, including "men in the shadows" which might be the men in the church who actually run things, as opposed to the people they put on stage during the sermons. "Selling your sex" might just mean being charming, but could also mean that the person in question are sleeping with these men to get what they want.

At the end, it sounds like it alternates between "I've got your lips" and "I've got your kisses" and "Wunderbar, wunderbar, you could be wunderbar" (wonderful).

So.. nobody? Nobody can figure out what this catchy song means? It's very confusing because on the one hand he's saying this lady has a lot of sex because she's troubled ("crying on the shoulders of the men") and needs saving... but on the other hand, he seems to want to get with her himself. ??