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.
He needs a quiet room
With a lock to keep him in
It's just a quiet room
And he's there
He plays an old guitar
With a coin found by the phone
It was his friend's guitar
That he played
Mm-hmm, mm-mm-mm-mm
Mm-hmm, mm-mm-mm-mm
He's never been in love
But he knows just what love is
He says nevermind
And no one speaks
He thinks he drinks too much
'Cause when he tells his two best friends
I think I drink too much
No one speaks
No one speaks
No one speaks
Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm
Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm
He plays an old guitar
With a coin found by the phone
It was his friend's guitar
That he played
When he plays
No one speaks
No one speaks
When he plays
No one speaks
With a lock to keep him in
It's just a quiet room
And he's there
He plays an old guitar
With a coin found by the phone
It was his friend's guitar
That he played
Mm-hmm, mm-mm-mm-mm
Mm-hmm, mm-mm-mm-mm
He's never been in love
But he knows just what love is
He says nevermind
And no one speaks
He thinks he drinks too much
'Cause when he tells his two best friends
I think I drink too much
No one speaks
No one speaks
No one speaks
Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm
Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm
He plays an old guitar
With a coin found by the phone
It was his friend's guitar
That he played
When he plays
No one speaks
No one speaks
When he plays
No one speaks
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
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People don't give the acoustic disc enough credit. It's very deep and spiritual. I know how Dave Grohl says it's about Kurt, but I interpret it differently. I think of it as someone who has been kept quiet for such a long time that it is tearing him apart, and the lock that keeps him in is him being oppressed because he will go berserk if he is let out. He drowns his thoughts and worries in alcohol and is afraid to get something of his own so he uses his friend's possesions. He is self-conscious but doesn't talk too much because he is so withdrawn. He doesn't have a will to connect with anyone else, so when he is with his "friends" it is incredibly awkward and silent. His friends aren't very good because they don't help him with his problems, they just don't speak. He is too afraid to be in love with anyone so he stays silent and withdrawn from anyone else...forever