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.
Man walks along the railroad track
He's going some place and there's no turnin' back
The Highway Patrol chopper comin' up over the ridge
Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge
The shelter line stretchin' around the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars out in the Southwest
No job, no home, no peace, no rest, no rest
And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad
He pulls his prayer book out of a sleepin' bag
The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
He's waitin' for the time
When the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
With a one way ticket to the promise land
With a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Lookin' for a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city's aqueducts
And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad
Then Tom said "Ma, whenever ya seen a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry new born baby cries
Wherever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me ma, I'll be there
Wherever somebody's strugglin' for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody is strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes ma, you'll see me"
You'll see me, you'll see me
You'll see me, you'll see me
You'll see me, you'll see me
You'll see me, you'll see me
And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of Tom Joad
He's going some place and there's no turnin' back
The Highway Patrol chopper comin' up over the ridge
Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge
The shelter line stretchin' around the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars out in the Southwest
No job, no home, no peace, no rest, no rest
And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad
He pulls his prayer book out of a sleepin' bag
The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
He's waitin' for the time
When the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
With a one way ticket to the promise land
With a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Lookin' for a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city's aqueducts
And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad
Then Tom said "Ma, whenever ya seen a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry new born baby cries
Wherever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me ma, I'll be there
Wherever somebody's strugglin' for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody is strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes ma, you'll see me"
You'll see me, you'll see me
You'll see me, you'll see me
You'll see me, you'll see me
You'll see me, you'll see me
And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of Tom Joad
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Tom Joad is a character from The Grapes of Wrath (a great book about the Great Depression.) The book focuses on "man's inhumanity to man" and police brutality. Tom Joad ends up killing a cop after the cop kills his friend (the preacher who was waiting for the last to be first....) This is a really eye-opening song.
rage fucked this song up. they changed the whole feel of it. it was orriginally a sad song. and they filled it with anger. the anger in bruce's version was subtle. not screaming and breaking things.
dont get me wrong, i love rage, but they didnt do the original justice here.
the original is so much better
Rage tends to change the whole feel of their covers. I like rage's version better, but im not a springsteen fan. If you are i understand how you could hate this version.
i understand that if you like the original a remake can seem unworthy but springsteen totally embraces them and their cover
Also, this song was originally written by Bruce Springsteen and was released in 1995 on the album by the same name.
the part about "wherever there's a cop beatin a guy..." and that whole thing is taken from the most famous passage in The Grapes of Wrath, where before Tom leaves his family, he tells ma that no matter where he is, he'll always be where injustice is in spirit. All throughout The Grapes of Wrath, they talk about a silent army that no one knows about, the revolution that is ahead of them because of the injustices that are being served towards the Okies...and Tom saying this speech shows that he understands and realizes what is to come...and he promises that he or someone like him will always be there to resist this kind of oppression.
I like both versions of the song...Springsteen's is more sad and as Jip said more 'subtle', while Rage's is more...anger. How can the story of a man from a book called The Grapes of WRATH not be about anger? For anyone who has seen the movie or read the book knows that it deals a lot with the anger of the migrant people. First, the tenant farmers in Oklahoma are booted off their lands. They are forced to leave their homes and find work to support their families. The people suffer from homelessness, starvation, discrimination, and brutality. How could you not be angry about this? It's both sad and anger. Also in the book, there's many interchapters where Steinbeck rants about the anger of the people towards banks, police, etc. Like sKaDforLiFe said, the last verse in the song is nearly the same as in the book, in Chapter 28 - when Tom is talking to Ma: "I'll be all aroun' in the dark, I'll be ever'where- wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there.... I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an'- I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build- why I'll be there." If you haven't read the book, I suggest reading it. Also watch the movie. If you're not much of a reader you could always look at pinkmonkey.com for summaries and stuff. Peace.
Man, I feel like an idiot. I thought this was called "The Ghost of Tom Jones..." like the guy who sings those crappy lounge songs. So...after Tom Jones dies the whole world goes to shit, cuz he was such a happy guy who kept humanity in check. Honestly, I don't know if he's even dead, nor even care.
sorry but your comment made me have a chuckle fit.
Yeah this is a remake of a Springsteen song. This might be the best cover I've ever heard.
It's a good song, lyrics really stick in your head.
I have to disagree, I love this song better. Lyrics never leave your head, I love it! I must go out and check this book out.
It's a scary song now and I like it better than the original. It makes you feel the angst of the poor man in the song. I really think this song is about the ultimate failure of such thinking. Granted these thoughts of mine might be lies, but I am a nihilist in this regard. There will always be power in this world no matter what the next revolution will be called. Those leaders will be installed and they will oppress the people who liked the old leaders. I am reminded of a sappy tune by Bruce Hornsby: that's just the way it is, some things will never change. Even Jesus Christ said, the poor shall always be with you. With those thoughts, why do we hold onto hope. Without hope, we can't cope therefore we die early. The only thing worth living for is just living.