So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
So what have we learned,
From this life they made us do?
I wasted all my time
On loving you,
They lined us up,
And paired off in twos,
Laughing that they pulled off,
This elaborate ruse,
You control the world,
When you control the news,
And we refuse to choose,
Leaving us no choice but to...
Destroy the children,
Before they are the masters,
Dressing in monkey suits,
And causing their own disasters,
And please,
Make sure they suffer dearly,
Because I don't suffer fools,
Unless I state this more clearly,
So what do we do,
When we live and we don't learn,
We throw our hearts in a fire,
And watch them burn,
They line us up,
To wait here for our turn,
For congrue with a taste,
We can discern,
You're never found guilty,
If courts never adjourn,
And let's use all of that money,
We never earn to...
Destroy the children,
Before they have the answer,
And replace the singer-songwriter with,
Autotune dancers,
And please,
Make sure they learn their lesson,
Because it's clear they don't know,
With whom they are messing,
And before you cast me as the dunce,
I am well aware I was a child once,
With a destiny only ambition hunts,
All you gentlemen are such royal cunts,
Draw like mars,
To impossible stunts of love,
So what do we do,
When learned how to live,
We give back all of the advice,
We were too young to give,
Dress our love up,
With many an expletive,
And pouring all of our love,
Through a rusty sieve as we...
Destroy the children,
Before they destroy each other,
And imprison Lindsay Lohan,
Before she becomes a mother,
And please,
Like she's the virgin Mary,
Polluting our souls,
With Hollywood dysentery,
From this life they made us do?
I wasted all my time
On loving you,
They lined us up,
And paired off in twos,
Laughing that they pulled off,
This elaborate ruse,
You control the world,
When you control the news,
And we refuse to choose,
Leaving us no choice but to...
Destroy the children,
Before they are the masters,
Dressing in monkey suits,
And causing their own disasters,
And please,
Make sure they suffer dearly,
Because I don't suffer fools,
Unless I state this more clearly,
So what do we do,
When we live and we don't learn,
We throw our hearts in a fire,
And watch them burn,
They line us up,
To wait here for our turn,
For congrue with a taste,
We can discern,
You're never found guilty,
If courts never adjourn,
And let's use all of that money,
We never earn to...
Destroy the children,
Before they have the answer,
And replace the singer-songwriter with,
Autotune dancers,
And please,
Make sure they learn their lesson,
Because it's clear they don't know,
With whom they are messing,
And before you cast me as the dunce,
I am well aware I was a child once,
With a destiny only ambition hunts,
All you gentlemen are such royal cunts,
Draw like mars,
To impossible stunts of love,
So what do we do,
When learned how to live,
We give back all of the advice,
We were too young to give,
Dress our love up,
With many an expletive,
And pouring all of our love,
Through a rusty sieve as we...
Destroy the children,
Before they destroy each other,
And imprison Lindsay Lohan,
Before she becomes a mother,
And please,
Like she's the virgin Mary,
Polluting our souls,
With Hollywood dysentery,
Lyrics submitted by hornytheclown
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The title track, and one that lives up to the album's subtitle (An acoustic exploration of uneasy topics). The narrator seems to be upset about how the system subjugated him and the rest of society in general. He also seems to have been recently spurred by a lover. The breakup might be making him extremely pessimistic. He sees one solution to the fucked up world (that he seems to think is just getting worst with the next generation) and that's to "destroy the children."
But he seems to want to do it for revenge as much to end this cycle of subjugation.
Another thought (that I didn't want to put in my previous comment because it would be a clutter thought since we are able to do paragraph breaks anymore): the narrator could be a parent who is going through a divorce and he is irrational. So he thinks killing the children is a good idea because they won't have to suffer his fate. A very dark take, but a possible interpretation.