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.
Born in the middle of a second big baby boom
Those noisy boys just might have spoken up too soon
Now I`m looking for a little girl, I wonder where she`s gone
Big money for families having more than one
Opportunity, opportunity
This is your big opportunity
They shop around
Follow you without a sound
Whatever you do now
Don`t turn around
Whatever happened to the pride of the nation?
They say, "just wait until you break formation"
She was sitting pretty on a velvet cushion
But her bedroom eyes were like a button she was pushing
She said, "When they get to Dover they`ll be be taking over"
I said I`d come to her defense and then she pulled me over
[Chorus:]
I`m in the foxhole, I`m down in the trench
I`d be a hero but I can`t stand the stench
The Fitness Institute was full of General Motormen
And the "Hello House of Beauty" wouldn't stand a chance with them
The chairman of this boredom is a company collector
I`d like to be his funeral director
[Chorus]
Please don`t turn around
Those noisy boys just might have spoken up too soon
Now I`m looking for a little girl, I wonder where she`s gone
Big money for families having more than one
Opportunity, opportunity
This is your big opportunity
They shop around
Follow you without a sound
Whatever you do now
Don`t turn around
Whatever happened to the pride of the nation?
They say, "just wait until you break formation"
She was sitting pretty on a velvet cushion
But her bedroom eyes were like a button she was pushing
She said, "When they get to Dover they`ll be be taking over"
I said I`d come to her defense and then she pulled me over
[Chorus:]
I`m in the foxhole, I`m down in the trench
I`d be a hero but I can`t stand the stench
The Fitness Institute was full of General Motormen
And the "Hello House of Beauty" wouldn't stand a chance with them
The chairman of this boredom is a company collector
I`d like to be his funeral director
[Chorus]
Please don`t turn around
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Listening to this song after many, many years the offhand misogyny of Costello really struck me - "but her bedroom eyes were like a button she was pushing". The women in this period of Costello's writing are always using their sexual attraction against the author in some sort of calculated fashion.