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.
It happened all so fast heavy with sleep my eyes closed
The next thing I remember was crawling out from the car and
Seeing you lying there
Holding your head kissing you for the last time
The taste of blood on my lips
Your clothes torn apart perfumed with gas
It seems like it was yesterday when the rain poured down
I can still hear your screams as if it was happening all over again
Saturday, December 4th that night would become a grave
That would crush my heart
Joy and laughter exchanged for grief and silence
Searching for so long to find you and the moment
You were ripped from me
Laying here on this empty shelf never to be read again
In these pages lie every memory of you
The wind blew your heart over my eyes and I slept for days
Praying not to awake, but these dreams can only last so long
Facing the day looking through these tears
I'll always look back and remember that night as you lay there
Looking over that casket seeing your face times of past rushing
Touching your cold hand wishing it would touch me back
You look so pretty lying there just like the first day we met
It feels so real like old times but it's nothing, it's nothing
I can taste the stale air on my tongue and death lights up the sky
Hope finds itself an end stopping at my thoughts
Pictures of you help bring back the tears
Walking in the present but living in the past
How much longer will I embrace sorrow?
From the moment you entered my life
My whole outlook on love would change
You brought out a happiness I didn't even know I had
And now you've gone leaving without a goodbye
That glass heart that rested in my chest has fallen and shattered
Here on lord is the remains of a broken heart
For I have faith you can give me joy and life again
Death has fallen but love covers me
Heaven is now home to my angel of love
The next thing I remember was crawling out from the car and
Seeing you lying there
Holding your head kissing you for the last time
The taste of blood on my lips
Your clothes torn apart perfumed with gas
It seems like it was yesterday when the rain poured down
I can still hear your screams as if it was happening all over again
Saturday, December 4th that night would become a grave
That would crush my heart
Joy and laughter exchanged for grief and silence
Searching for so long to find you and the moment
You were ripped from me
Laying here on this empty shelf never to be read again
In these pages lie every memory of you
The wind blew your heart over my eyes and I slept for days
Praying not to awake, but these dreams can only last so long
Facing the day looking through these tears
I'll always look back and remember that night as you lay there
Looking over that casket seeing your face times of past rushing
Touching your cold hand wishing it would touch me back
You look so pretty lying there just like the first day we met
It feels so real like old times but it's nothing, it's nothing
I can taste the stale air on my tongue and death lights up the sky
Hope finds itself an end stopping at my thoughts
Pictures of you help bring back the tears
Walking in the present but living in the past
How much longer will I embrace sorrow?
From the moment you entered my life
My whole outlook on love would change
You brought out a happiness I didn't even know I had
And now you've gone leaving without a goodbye
That glass heart that rested in my chest has fallen and shattered
Here on lord is the remains of a broken heart
For I have faith you can give me joy and life again
Death has fallen but love covers me
Heaven is now home to my angel of love
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Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Hey, I'm pretty sure it is. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cries_of_the_Past Maybe it is fact, or simply a scenario. But if you listen to this entire Cries of The Past album as well as some of The Changing of Times (When the Sun Sleeps), it is apparent that this album is actually based on this event (12/4/) and how God helped him overcome such a tragedy in his life (the loss of his girlfriend in a car accident). Dallas' relationship with God was initially a distant one; he often blamed him for trials in his life (see Act of Depression). However, he soon realized that it was through God he could see everyone he loved and remember everything that made them special; through God he saw his girlfriend. Overall, this album is mainly about acceptance, letting go, and allowing God to come into your life to help you overcome such bad experiences. If it is all made up, they really did a great job of skillfully crafting three albums all following a similar theme.