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.
Never was a cornflake girl
Thought that was a good solution
Hangin' with the raisin girls
She's gone to the other side
Givin' us a yo-heave-ho
Things are getting kind of gross
And I go at sleepy time
This is not really
This, a-this, a-this is not really happening
You bet your life it is
You bet your life it is
Oh, honey, you bet your life it's a
Peel out the watchword
Just peel out the watchword
She knows what's going on
Seems we got a cheaper feel now
All the sweet tears are gone
Gone to the other side
With my encyclopedia
They musta paid her a nice price
She's puttin' on her string bean love
This is not really
This, this, this is not really happening
You bet your life it is
You bet your life it is
Oh, honey, you bet your life it's a
Peel out the watchword
Just peel out the watchword
Never was a cornflake girl
Thought that was a good solution
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl?
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl? (Uh-huh)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys? (Oh, yeah)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys?
Where'd you put the keys, girl?
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah, yeah
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl? (Oh, yes)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl? (Oh, this time)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys? (Oh, yeah)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl?
Thought that was a good solution
Hangin' with the raisin girls
She's gone to the other side
Givin' us a yo-heave-ho
Things are getting kind of gross
And I go at sleepy time
This is not really
This, a-this, a-this is not really happening
You bet your life it is
You bet your life it is
Oh, honey, you bet your life it's a
Peel out the watchword
Just peel out the watchword
She knows what's going on
Seems we got a cheaper feel now
All the sweet tears are gone
Gone to the other side
With my encyclopedia
They musta paid her a nice price
She's puttin' on her string bean love
This is not really
This, this, this is not really happening
You bet your life it is
You bet your life it is
Oh, honey, you bet your life it's a
Peel out the watchword
Just peel out the watchword
Never was a cornflake girl
Thought that was a good solution
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl?
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl? (Uh-huh)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys? (Oh, yeah)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys?
Where'd you put the keys, girl?
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much
Thinks he knows so much, yeah, yeah
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl? (Oh, yes)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl? (Oh, this time)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys? (Oh, yeah)
Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl?
Lyrics submitted by Novartza, edited by CharMarRules
Cornflake Girl Lyrics as written by Tori Amos
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The inspiration for "Cornflake Girl" came from Alice Walker's novel Possessing the Secret of Joy, about a young African woman going through the ritual of female genital mutilation. Amos was angered by the idea that a mother could subject her daughter to such a brutal act, and the song arose as an exploration of the idea of betrayal between women. In the song two factions of women are referred to: the "raisin girls" are "multicultural" and open-minded, while the "cornflake girls" of the title are "narrowminded and full of prejudice".
The reference to cornflakes and raisins comes from their distribution in a box of breakfast cereal, implying that "raisin girls" are much harder to find than "cornflake girls". Amos has spoken in interviews about being referred to glibly as "the cornflake girl" due to the song's title being applied to her, when she considers herself a "raisin girl". Moreover she specifically states in the first line of the song: "Never was a cornflake girl." (In concerts she has also said "cornflakes" vs. "raisins" was a reference to which girls had ready access to marijuana, Tori herself being bereft of the substance.) The confusion is probably related to her 1987 commercial for Kellogg's Just Right, made before her widespread fame. Just Right includes both raisins and corn flakes, so the song and the cereal are related either through coincidence or intent.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornflake_Girl