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.
Keep the noise low
She doesn't wanna blow it
Shaking head to toe
While your left hand does "the show me around
Quickens your heartbeat
It beats me straight into the ground
You don't recover from a night like this
A victim, still lying in bed, completely motionless
A hand moves in the dark to a zipper
Hear a boy bracing tight against sheet barely whisper
This is so messed up
Upon arrival the guests had all stared
Dripping wet and clearly depressed
He'd headed straight for the stairs
No longer cool, but a boy in a stitch
Unprepared for a life full of lies and failing relationships
Up the stairs
The station where
The act becomes
The art of growing up
He keeps his hands low
He doesn't wanna blow it
He's wet from head to toe
And his eyes give her the up and the down
His stomach turns and he thinks of throwing up
But the body on the bed beckons forward
And he starts growing up
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of...
It used to be the reason I breathed
But now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
She hits the lights
This doesn't seem quite fair
Despite everything he learned from his friends
He doesn't feel so prepared
She's breathing quiet and smooth
He's gasping for air
"This is the first and last time," he says.
She fakes a smile and presses her hips into his
He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
He's holding back from telling her
Exactly what it really feels like
He is the lamb
She is the slaughter
She's moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her
Nothing that he tells her is really having an effect
He whispers that he loves her
But she's probably only looking for...
Up the stairs
The station where
The act becomes
The art of growing up
So much more than he could ever give
A life free of lies and a meaningful relationship
He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
He waits for it to end
And for the aching in his guts to subside
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of...
It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
Up the stairs
The station where
The act becomes
The art of growing up
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of...
It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
She doesn't wanna blow it
Shaking head to toe
While your left hand does "the show me around
Quickens your heartbeat
It beats me straight into the ground
You don't recover from a night like this
A victim, still lying in bed, completely motionless
A hand moves in the dark to a zipper
Hear a boy bracing tight against sheet barely whisper
This is so messed up
Upon arrival the guests had all stared
Dripping wet and clearly depressed
He'd headed straight for the stairs
No longer cool, but a boy in a stitch
Unprepared for a life full of lies and failing relationships
Up the stairs
The station where
The act becomes
The art of growing up
He keeps his hands low
He doesn't wanna blow it
He's wet from head to toe
And his eyes give her the up and the down
His stomach turns and he thinks of throwing up
But the body on the bed beckons forward
And he starts growing up
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of...
It used to be the reason I breathed
But now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
She hits the lights
This doesn't seem quite fair
Despite everything he learned from his friends
He doesn't feel so prepared
She's breathing quiet and smooth
He's gasping for air
"This is the first and last time," he says.
She fakes a smile and presses her hips into his
He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
He's holding back from telling her
Exactly what it really feels like
He is the lamb
She is the slaughter
She's moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her
Nothing that he tells her is really having an effect
He whispers that he loves her
But she's probably only looking for...
Up the stairs
The station where
The act becomes
The art of growing up
So much more than he could ever give
A life free of lies and a meaningful relationship
He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
He waits for it to end
And for the aching in his guts to subside
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of...
It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
Up the stairs
The station where
The act becomes
The art of growing up
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of...
It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
Lyrics submitted by BrandNew1208, edited by highkingnm, acenine, Skoobasteve24
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I think it was in AP recently that Jesse Lacey said that the song is about rape.