Sister Carrie - rock and roll roots

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This song was written about a nun I happened to see one day in Central Park.

Sister Carrie

Sunday afternoons in the park by the man who sells balloons
There's a lady who sits in the dark
She looks up and says "Hello"
She pretends she has something to show
In her hand which she reaches out is a plea
It means nothing to me
But she, I can see her refuse to let go

Oh Sister Carrie, carrying home the flag
Everyone knows it ain't easy - it's a drag

Saturday nights at church, in the dark
She begs for an end to her search, and the messages left in the park
There's a man in her eyes instead
More alive than dead
And he is determined to never let her go

This poem is about a nun handing out flyers in the park, trying to preach "the good news". The man in her eyes who refuses to let her go is Jesus Christ. The tradition in the Church is that when a nun takes the vow of celibacy, she is entering into a form of marriage with Jesus where she promises to be faithful forever. And once she does that, her husband in Heaven will not let go of her soul.