SING A NEW SONG: Dappled Things is compiling “a list of songs from groups that are not chiefly religious bands (no Gospel bands and Christian rock, in other words) but that cite the Bible, Catholic liturgy, or other explicitly Judaeo-Christian sources. This should be more than simple references to God and religion. …I’m interested in seeing the allusions and references as indications of the impact of religion on popular culture, so for this purpose it doesn’t really matter whether the references are entirely flattering or not.”

Here are Camassia’s contributions.

And here are mine:

Ani DiFranco, “Adam and Eve.“ “You think you’re Adam/And you think I’m Eve.” There’s a self-righteous chorus that I hate (“I envy you your ignorance/I hear that it’s bliss”), but except for that, this song is perfect, and DiFranco’s ripping-at-the-seams low wail is stunning. My favorite bit: “Just don’t treat me like I am/something that happened to you.”

The Avengers, “Corpus Christi.” Title refers to the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Whole song is about how Catholicism sucks. Catchy tune though! (Well, to be fair, the song seems to me like it’s sung from the perspective of someone who was once genuinely seeking Christ–that’s the verses–but has now given up–that’s the chorus.)

Cat Power, “You May Know Him.” “Oh, Lord, surprised by the rise in sin, you came through/Over and over and over and over again.”

The Fugees, “The Beast.” “On the mountain Satan offered me Manhattan/Help me Jah, Jah.” This was one of maybe five lines that made me say, I must have this album.

Huggy Bear, “Prayer.” “I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death. I’m feeling fine.”

Peter Gabriel, “Mercy Street.” “Confessing all the secret things in the warm velvet box/To the priest–he’s the doctor–he can handle the shocks.” A beautiful song.

P.J. Harvey, “Snake.” Whole song is about the snake and Adam and Eve.

Severed Heads, “All Saints Day” and “Greater Reward.” The things in quotation marks at the end of the lyrics are statements by the lyricist, Tom Ellard, on what he was on about.

Siouxsie and the Banshees, “The Lord’s Prayer.” This is how I remembered the Lord’s Prayer when I first became Catholic and didn’t have it in memory. It’s a pretty lame song, unfortunately. “Sacre bleu! Holy cow!” …No.

The Violent Femmes, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” Not quite a cover of the Culture Club version: “Man of Sorrows, word unbroken/His sweat like blood came down like tears…” Such a great song, from such a great, bitter-trying-to-be-sweet album.