[Intro - loose rolling band, a swinging prison-album groove, the vocal entering talked]

[Verse 1 - talked, the comic setup]
Well I have been a believer most of my life now
And in all of that time I have been called a lot of things
Now I expected the world to call me names, the world has always done that
But I am here to tell you about the names I got from the church

[Verse 2 - the contradictory labels, talked, comic]
The Arminians, they called me a hyper-Calvinist, the worst of the worst
And the Calvinists turned right around and called me an antinomian
One camp said that I was too hard, one camp said I was too soft
One man called me a heretic on a Monday
And a compromiser by that Friday
And brother, it was the very same man

[Chorus - talked over the groove]
They made me a man named Heretic
Heretic, that was the name
You carry a name like that into a room
And the room is never the same
A man named Heretic learns to keep his back against the wall
A man named Heretic learns to scrap

[Verse 3 - the fighting years, comic]
So for years and years I fought about it, I fought about it everywhere
I would not let a single name go by without a swing
I figured if I won enough of the rounds they would take the name back someday
But you cannot win a name back
No sir, you cannot win a name back

[Verse 4 - the confrontation with the source]
So I got down low one night and I had it out with God
I said Lord, every camp on earth has shown me to the door
I said Lord, they have named me clean out of everywhere a man can stand
I said why would You let them do it
Why would You ever let them name me out

[Bridge - the twist, the band drops back, quiet]
And it came back quiet, the way the true things always do
Son, I let them hang that name on you, every contradictory one
Because a man who is welcome everywhere will never leave the camp
And the truth was never in the camp
The truth was always out past the fence
I named you out, son
I named you out on purpose

[Final Verse and Outro - the band comes back, wry acceptance]
So you can call me Heretic, I will answer to it now
It is just the name on the road that led me to the truth
A man named Heretic turned out to be the only kind of man
Who was ever going to find his way outside the camp
They made me a man named Heretic
And Lord, it turned out to be the gift