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.
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning,
And the first thing that I heard,
Was a song outside my window,
And the traffic wrote the words,
It came ringing up like Christmas bells,
And rapping up like pipes and drums.
Oh, won't you stay we'll put on the day,
And we'll wear it 'till the night comes.
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning,
And the first thing that I saw,
Was the sun through yellow curtains,
And a rainbow on the wall,
Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you,
Crimson crystal beads to beckon
Oh, won't you stay we'll put on the day,
There's a sun show every second.
Now the curtain opens on a portrait of today.
And the streets are paved with passersby,
And pigeons fly, and papers lie,
Waiting to blow away.
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning,
And the first thing that I knew,
There was milk and toast and honey,
And a bowl of oranges too,
And the sun poured in like butterscotch,
And stuck to all my senses.
Oh, wont you stay we'll put on the day,
And we'll talk in present tenses.
When the curtain closes,
And the rainbow runs away,
I will bring you incense owls by night,
By candlelight, by jewel-light
If only you will stay.
Pretty baby won't you.
Woke up, it is a Chelsea morning.
And the first thing that I heard,
Was a song outside my window,
And the traffic wrote the words,
It came ringing up like Christmas bells,
And rapping up like pipes and drums.
Oh, won't you stay we'll put on the day,
And we'll wear it 'till the night comes.
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning,
And the first thing that I saw,
Was the sun through yellow curtains,
And a rainbow on the wall,
Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you,
Crimson crystal beads to beckon
Oh, won't you stay we'll put on the day,
There's a sun show every second.
Now the curtain opens on a portrait of today.
And the streets are paved with passersby,
And pigeons fly, and papers lie,
Waiting to blow away.
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning,
And the first thing that I knew,
There was milk and toast and honey,
And a bowl of oranges too,
And the sun poured in like butterscotch,
And stuck to all my senses.
Oh, wont you stay we'll put on the day,
And we'll talk in present tenses.
When the curtain closes,
And the rainbow runs away,
I will bring you incense owls by night,
By candlelight, by jewel-light
If only you will stay.
Pretty baby won't you.
Woke up, it is a Chelsea morning.
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by IntroSpectre
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orig. by joni mitchell