Upon this rock let us build our church
Said the lions of the colosseum
And as the Christians wander in
We can lock the doors and eat 'em
Drink the blood of the saints
Roll the poor for pocket change
Then on our knees we will give thanks
Said the lions of the colosseum

I saw Dorothy Day on the barricades
She was hanging with comrade Jesus
But the lions did not see a thing
They were rendering unto Caesar
Roman soldiers did their best
To silence those who would protest
They had a warrant out for Dorothy's arrest
From the lions of the colosseum

In chains of ancient history
The church is a museum
Cobwebs hang like rosaries
Inside a mausoleum
Whose surfaces are clean and white
While inside rotting corpses lie
And so they like to keep the lid on tight
Those lions of the colosseum

Let us build a tower to the sky
And let it reach to heaven
We shall be as gods, we shall not die
And our reign shall be forever
So the lions built from age to age
Til they made a Babel of the faith
And tore the body in a thousand different ways
Like in the colosseum

Now on the satellite TV
Everyday you see 'em
Live from the lap of luxury
It's the lions of the colosseum
With politicians, millionaires
You won't see Mother Teresa there
Just the holy rollers with the manes of hair
Lions of the colosseum

But there's rebel graffiti on the walls
Inside the colosseum
Down below in the catacombs
The defiant ones are meeting
Hiding in the underground
Blood brothers pass the cup around
And they pay no heed to the roaring sound
Of the lions of the colosseum

Don't you pay no heed to the roaring sound
Of the lions of the colosseum