George grew up in a Catholic home. His primary memories of the Catholic Church involve the trading of forgiveness for donations. In a background spoken part, George references "put 5 bob in the box, you'll be alright." There is also repeated mention of "One Our Father, Three Hail Mary's" which is an allusion to the Catholic practice of penance for the forgiveness of sins. A Saturday night of sinning, atoned by the assigned penance... a practice repeated week after week.
The greater context of the song, however, is the murder of Roberto Calvi and corruption and scandal at the Vatican Bank. In and earlier spoken part, he mentions the name of Paul Marcinkus (president of Vatican Bank) who was at the center of the scandal. The song is a commentary on corruption in Catholic doctrine as well as in its financial dealings.
George grew up in a Catholic home. His primary memories of the Catholic Church involve the trading of forgiveness for donations. In a background spoken part, George references "put 5 bob in the box, you'll be alright." There is also repeated mention of "One Our Father, Three Hail Mary's" which is an allusion to the Catholic practice of penance for the forgiveness of sins. A Saturday night of sinning, atoned by the assigned penance... a practice repeated week after week.
The greater context of the song, however, is the murder of Roberto Calvi and corruption and scandal at the Vatican Bank. In and earlier spoken part, he mentions the name of Paul Marcinkus (president of Vatican Bank) who was at the center of the scandal. The song is a commentary on corruption in Catholic doctrine as well as in its financial dealings.