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.
You say the hill's too steep to climb
Chiding
You say you'd like to see me try
Climbing
You pick the place and I'll choose the time
And I'll climb
The hill in my own way
Just wait a while, for the right day
And as I rise above the treeline and the clouds
I look down hearing the sound of the things you said today
Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd, smiling
Merciless, the magistrate turns 'round, frowning
And who's the fool who wears the crown
Go down in your own way
And everyday is the right day
And as you rise above the fear lines in his BROW
You look down
Hear the sound of the faces in the crowd
Chiding
You say you'd like to see me try
Climbing
You pick the place and I'll choose the time
And I'll climb
The hill in my own way
Just wait a while, for the right day
And as I rise above the treeline and the clouds
I look down hearing the sound of the things you said today
Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd, smiling
Merciless, the magistrate turns 'round, frowning
And who's the fool who wears the crown
Go down in your own way
And everyday is the right day
And as you rise above the fear lines in his BROW
You look down
Hear the sound of the faces in the crowd
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by frashpikass, rcedison, shinzon, Elin01, pendraggon
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Which football team is being cheered at the end? I can hear both Liverpool and Everton; Was it recorded at a Mersyside derby, and are the boys having a little 'fun' with us? Seriously, though, the 'idiot' is the same fool which Ian Anderson found when he wrote the Jethro Tull classic, 'Minstrel In The Gallery'; the wise and foolish self / non-self (delete as applicable) within us all. The song is about self-reliance, self-determination and the will to question authority to the point of dissent. This is not a Syd tribute, and Jesus? Let's stick to what is before us, and not play that game where Jesus, Krishna or the Great Prophet Zorquan can be found in any piece of text.