Heartland

I always assumed it had something to do with Jimmy Swaggart. He was involved in a huge scandal around that time (picking up a Louisiana prostitue, homosexual accusations). After he was busted he went on TV and apologized, repenting for his sins, and started crying like a little girl. With relevance to the song, I think it's broken down like so...

"All the things we ever did were always confidential.." - in relation to his alleged affair with another male congregation member.

"...at a red light anywhere in town, hailing maries left and right..." - His arrest for prostitution.

"God knows everybody needs a hand in their decision some of us are not so sure..." - Swaggart said something similar to this in the TV appearance.

"I've seen his own held out for a ride on television..." - Swaggart being an evangelist.

"I think he's still in Baltimore." - Haven't a clue.

Swaggart's speech can be found here.

Thought I should add that the Swaggart theory seems on par with Vons usual themes of religion and prostitution. Plus it's obscure (at least these days it is).

A bit of Swaggart's big weepy confession is in the Dr Jeep video though- well I think it's him but it could be another sinful preacher,( there've been a few) & it was quite a big deal at the time. If I remember right that is.

Is he the one with the wife who looked like she had five dead spiders stuck to each eye? (Now that's what I call goff!) Or was that someone called Baker? I forget. No doubt one of our American correspondents can put me right.

The link James Blast posted wrote:In his self-serving confession I Was Wrong, Jim admitted squandering church money on luxury cars and six mansions.

Jim Bakker wrote a book called I Was Wrong. The plot thickens!

straylight wrote:A bit of Swaggart's big weepy confession is in the Dr Jeep video though- well I think it's him but it could be another sinful preacher,( there've been a few) & it was quite a big deal at the time. If I remember right that is.

Is he the one with the wife who looked like she had five dead spiders stuck to each eye? (Now that's what I call goff!) Or was that someone called Baker? I forget. No doubt one of our American correspondents can put me right.

You're thinking of Jim and Tammy Fay Bakker. They're not as much fun to make fun of as they're really already parodies of themselves.

CtrlAltDelete wrote:You're thinking of Jim and Tammy Fay Bakker. They're not as much fun to make fun of as they're really already parodies of themselves.

like Swaggart or any of the rest of those charlatans aren't?

James Blast wrote:

CtrlAltDelete wrote:You're thinking of Jim and Tammy Fay Bakker. They're not as much fun to make fun of as they're really already parodies of themselves.

like Swaggart or any of the rest of those charlatans aren't?

None so much as the Bakkers. Especially Tammy, with her ridiculous makeup and dog. She had this tiny, irritating dog that she always carried. On tv she used to pretend the dog was talking, and often asked it for confirmation of what her or Jim had said.

"Jesus loves everyone, doesn't he ___ (whatever the dogs name was)?" And then she would wait for it to answer.

It was amusing.

Seventeen years after a federal court ruled that his church used undue influence to obtain more than $6 million from a donor, a Baltimore-based evangelist faces a new controversy in a different venue

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Any good