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.
Ground control to major Tom
Ground control to major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on (ten, nine)
Ground control to major Tom (eight, seven)
Commencing countdown (five) engines on (four, three, two)
Check ignition (one) and may god's love be with you (liftoff)
This is ground control to major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know who shot you where
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare
This is major Tom to ground control
I'm steppin' through the door
And i'm floating in the most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here, am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
Though I've posted one-hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much
She knows
Ground control to major Tom
Your circuit's dead
There's soemthing wrong
Can you hear me major Tom?
Can you hear me major Tom?
Can you hear me major Tom?
Ground control to major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on (ten, nine)
Ground control to major Tom (eight, seven)
Commencing countdown (five) engines on (four, three, two)
Check ignition (one) and may god's love be with you (liftoff)
This is ground control to major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know who shot you where
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare
This is major Tom to ground control
I'm steppin' through the door
And i'm floating in the most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here, am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
Though I've posted one-hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much
She knows
Ground control to major Tom
Your circuit's dead
There's soemthing wrong
Can you hear me major Tom?
Can you hear me major Tom?
Can you hear me major Tom?
Lyrics submitted by Pechan
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COLD really does this song justice. Bowie's is a classic, but this dark and creepy version blows me away every time I hear it.