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.
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset
Swiftly go the days
Sunrise, sunset, you wake up then you undress
It always is the same
The sunrise and the sunsets, you're lying while you confess
Keep trying to explain
The sunrise and the sunsets, you realize then you forget
What you've been trying to retain
But everybody knows
It's all about the things that get stuck inside of your head
Like the songs your roommate sings
A vision of her body as she stretches out on your bed
And she raised her hands in the air
Asked you, "When was the last time you looked in the mirror?"
Because you've changed
Yeah, you've changed
The sunrise, the sunsets, you're hopeful and then you regret
The circle never breaks
With a sunrise and a sunset, there's a change of heart or address
Is there nothing that remains?
For a sunrise or a sunset, you're manic or you're depressed
Will you ever feel okay?
For a sunrise or a sunset, your lover is an actress
Did you really think she'd stay?
For a sunrise or a sunset, you're either coming or you just left
But you're always on the way
Towards a sunrise or a sunset, a scribble or a sonnet
They are really just the same
To the sunrise or a sunset, the master and his servant
Have exactly the same fate
It's a sunrise and a sunset, from a cradle to a casket
There is no way to escape
The sunrise and a sunset, hold your sadness like a puppet
Keep putting on the play
But everything you do is leading to the point
Where you just won't know what to do
At that moment you may laugh but there is someone there
Who will be laughing louder than you
So it's true, the trick is complete
You become everything you said you never would be
You're a fool
You're a fool
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise and the sunsets
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, the sunsets, the sunrise, the sunsets
Sunrise, sunset, go home to your apartment
Put the cassette in the tape deck
And let that fever play
Sunrise, sunset, where are you Arienette?
Where are you Arienette?
Swiftly go the days
Sunrise, sunset, you wake up then you undress
It always is the same
The sunrise and the sunsets, you're lying while you confess
Keep trying to explain
The sunrise and the sunsets, you realize then you forget
What you've been trying to retain
But everybody knows
It's all about the things that get stuck inside of your head
Like the songs your roommate sings
A vision of her body as she stretches out on your bed
And she raised her hands in the air
Asked you, "When was the last time you looked in the mirror?"
Because you've changed
Yeah, you've changed
The sunrise, the sunsets, you're hopeful and then you regret
The circle never breaks
With a sunrise and a sunset, there's a change of heart or address
Is there nothing that remains?
For a sunrise or a sunset, you're manic or you're depressed
Will you ever feel okay?
For a sunrise or a sunset, your lover is an actress
Did you really think she'd stay?
For a sunrise or a sunset, you're either coming or you just left
But you're always on the way
Towards a sunrise or a sunset, a scribble or a sonnet
They are really just the same
To the sunrise or a sunset, the master and his servant
Have exactly the same fate
It's a sunrise and a sunset, from a cradle to a casket
There is no way to escape
The sunrise and a sunset, hold your sadness like a puppet
Keep putting on the play
But everything you do is leading to the point
Where you just won't know what to do
At that moment you may laugh but there is someone there
Who will be laughing louder than you
So it's true, the trick is complete
You become everything you said you never would be
You're a fool
You're a fool
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise and the sunsets
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, the sunsets, the sunrise, the sunsets
Sunrise, sunset, go home to your apartment
Put the cassette in the tape deck
And let that fever play
Sunrise, sunset, where are you Arienette?
Where are you Arienette?
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This song was originally in the musical the Fiddler on the Roof from the 60's or so. Actually, just the first two lines; "Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset Swiftly go the days", the rest was different. The melody is slightly different and Bright Eye's version is a lot faster.
The original song was sung by an older couple on their daughter's wedding day I beleive, and it's about how quickly time flies ("is this the little girl I carried / is this the little boy at play / I don't remember growing older, when did they?").
To me, the Bright Eyes version is basically about the same thing, or somehow about the meaninglessness of it all; "all days are the same and nothing ever really happens, then you die, so what's the point of it all"? I would guess that the song is based on thoughts like that.. Great song anyways...