What does It's a Sin mean?

Pet Shop Boys: It's a Sin Meaning

Album cover for It's a Sin album cover

Song Released: 1987


It's a Sin Lyrics

(Twenty seconds and counting...
T minus fifteen seconds, guidance is okay)
??
When I look back upon my life
It's always with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Sep 17th 2012 !⃝

    It's a Sin is about trying to reconcile being homosexual with Catholic guilt. Neil Tennant (who is gay) went to a strict Catholic school, and the song is about being made to feel guilty for his "sinful" sexual urges, while at the same time not understanding why it's wrong. His teachers tried to break him of it, teaching him how to be "good in thought and word and deed", and he's "tried not to do it", to try to be a 'good' person, but by his own admission he "didn't quite succeed".

    Years later, as an adult, it's still difficult to shake the feeling that was instilled in him when he was young; that his perfectly natural inclinations are somehow dirty and sinful.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 14th 2007 !⃝

    This song expresses the guilt that is imposed on homosexuals as a result of their sexuality. Popular culture traditionally frowned on homosexuals. The Holy Bible and public schools also (historically)forbid such behavior. The narrator of this song understands that his sexuality is not a conscious decision, and he cannot understand why his natural instincts are classified as sin. Currently, the gay lifestyle has become widely accepted worldwide. Homosexuality should not, however, preclude a person from being religious. Christianity, for example, understands that all people perform a "sin" at one time or another, be it a lie, over eating, etc. One sin is no different than another, and therefore, a gay person is no more "guilty" than anyone else.

  3. anonymous
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    Nov 2nd 2019 !⃝

    A suicide song to go to the end. The gunshot gives it away that is all through the song. My favorite

  4. anonymous
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    Sep 27th 2018 !⃝

    A suicide song to take you away. Sorry....
    Thank you

  5. Rocknrollerboy
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    Feb 3rd 2013 !⃝

    i think this song is about a man who is thinking about his life, his is going to gay bars and "sinful" places, he is feeling guilty because he wet to a catholic school and he had homosexual feelings there and he was punished then and hes punishing himself now, there is no saving him now because its a sin.

  6. anonymous
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    Jun 17th 2010 !⃝

    This song is about the choice of being homosexual. The author understands that his/her behaviour is wrong but does not have a strong enough will to change his condition and therefore continues doing what he/she knows is wrong.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  7. anonymous
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    Jul 13th 2009 !⃝

    Its about not being accepted for being homosexual and not understanding why its wrong or caring about it.. but at the same time apologising for it.

  8. anonymous
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    Nov 14th 2007 !⃝

    For me, the lyrics are not sexual in nature, but they honestly describe my life. In my life, I have been blamed for every problem. Nobody ever takes my side, because my eyes are so dark, they are nearly black, and it scares people. I have been blamed and accused and punished falsely. I have always felt like it was me against the world, and I still do. I am the ultimate victim, and nobody ever helps me. All my efforts to impress and live a proper life never succeed. Someone always finds a reason why something is wrong...and I feel like the eternal sinner...no matter what I do or how hard I try, I will never get a fair shake in life, but I accept it. This song is my anthem.

  9. rockqueen88
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    Sep 5th 2006 !⃝

    This song could have a couple of different meanings, and both work. The singer of the song could be trying to justify the sins he's commited in the past, and wants them to be forgiven.

    It could also relate to how he knows that he's a homosexual, and all these sins related to homosexuality he has realized, and wants forgiveness for them, but still plans to live on that life. Well, at least for me, this is what I believe it means on a deeper level.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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