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 and I, we are strangers by one chromosome
Slave to the hormone, body and soul
In a struggle to be happy and free
Swimming in a primitive sea
You and I, we must dive below the surface
A world of red neon and ultramarine
Shining bridges on the ocean floor
Reaching to the alien shore
For you and me
For you and me
For you and me, sex is not a competition
For you and me, sex is not a job description
For you and me
We agree
You and I, we are pressed into these solitudes
Color and culture, language and race
Just variations on a theme
Islands in a much larger stream
For you and me, race is not a competition
For you and me, race is not a definition
For you and me
We agree
Reaching for the alien shore
Reaching for the alien shore
Reaching for the alien shore
You and I, we reject these narrow attitudes
We add to each other, like a coral reef
Building bridges on the ocean floor
Reaching for the alien shore
For you and me, sex is not a competition
For you and me, race is not a definition
For you and me, we hold these truths to be self-evident
For you and me, we'd elect each other president
For you and me
We might agree
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
Slave to the hormone, body and soul
In a struggle to be happy and free
Swimming in a primitive sea
You and I, we must dive below the surface
A world of red neon and ultramarine
Shining bridges on the ocean floor
Reaching to the alien shore
For you and me
For you and me
For you and me, sex is not a competition
For you and me, sex is not a job description
For you and me
We agree
You and I, we are pressed into these solitudes
Color and culture, language and race
Just variations on a theme
Islands in a much larger stream
For you and me, race is not a competition
For you and me, race is not a definition
For you and me
We agree
Reaching for the alien shore
Reaching for the alien shore
Reaching for the alien shore
You and I, we reject these narrow attitudes
We add to each other, like a coral reef
Building bridges on the ocean floor
Reaching for the alien shore
For you and me, sex is not a competition
For you and me, race is not a definition
For you and me, we hold these truths to be self-evident
For you and me, we'd elect each other president
For you and me
We might agree
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
But that's just us
Reaching for the alien shore
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Similarities exist in everyone, be they of different race or of the opposite sex. There is more to everyone than their race, religion, sex, or culture. I also get the impression that when he says, "Sex is not a job description," perhaps he is referring to traditional views of a woman's place -- she does not have to be in the home, being a mother/housewife just because she is female, thus, "sex is not a job description." And that's my two cents.