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.
Make the grade
And fail the class
Take the test
And do your best
Watch you burn
Your life away
Buried in the hourglass
You can
Open up your mind
Everybody's teaching you
Trying to tell you
What to do
If you listen
You will find
That you can
Open up your mind
You can open up
Your mind
And I just can't wait
For another day
And I can't sleep
'Cause I'm to afraid
And I don't know
Where I'm gonna
End up next
The hourglass man
Has gone away
The hourglass man
He's in the sand
He's in the sand yeah
The hourglass man is
Buried in the hourglass
And fail the class
Take the test
And do your best
Watch you burn
Your life away
Buried in the hourglass
You can
Open up your mind
Everybody's teaching you
Trying to tell you
What to do
If you listen
You will find
That you can
Open up your mind
You can open up
Your mind
And I just can't wait
For another day
And I can't sleep
'Cause I'm to afraid
And I don't know
Where I'm gonna
End up next
The hourglass man
Has gone away
The hourglass man
He's in the sand
He's in the sand yeah
The hourglass man is
Buried in the hourglass
Lyrics submitted by NaginalJJ
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This is from their CD "Abrasive" which was released before they were on a major label. They also have a CD called "Stuck" which was released way back when. Here's the tracklist for those two CD's if anyone cares.
"Abrasive" - Released 1997 (Hardknocks Records)
Piss It All Away
"Stuck" - Released 1994 (V&R Records)
Suicide
If you're lucky, you can find them on e-bay, but they'll probably be quite expensive. As of today, they're still available for download off of this site: pompit.cjb.net/