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.
I never thought abouit the universe, it made me feel small
I never thought about the problems of this planet at all
Global warming and radioactive sites
The imperialistic wrongs and animal rights, NO!
Why think all the bad things when life is so good
Why help with an "am" when there's always a "could"
Let the whales worry 'bout the poisons in the sea outside of California, it's foreign policy
No I don't want changes I've no reactions your dilemmas are my distractions
That's no way to go Franco Un-American, that's no way to go Franco Un-American
I never looked around never second guessed, then I read some Howard Zinn now I'm always depressed
And now I can't sleep from years of apathy, all because I read a little Noam Chomsky
I'm eating vegetation 'cause a Fast Food Nation, I wear uncomfortable shoes 'cause of globalization
I'm watching Michael Moore expose the awful truth, I'm listening to Public Enemy and Reagan Youth
I see no world peace 'cause of zealous armed forces, I eat no breath mints 'cause they're from de-hoofed horses
Now I can't believe what an absolute failure, the president's laughing 'cause we voted for Nader
That's no way to go Franco Un-American, where can we go Franco Un-American
I want to move north and be a Canadian, or hang down low with the nice Australians
I don't want to be another I don't care-ican, what are we gonna do Franco Franco
I never thought about the problems of this planet at all
Global warming and radioactive sites
The imperialistic wrongs and animal rights, NO!
Why think all the bad things when life is so good
Why help with an "am" when there's always a "could"
Let the whales worry 'bout the poisons in the sea outside of California, it's foreign policy
No I don't want changes I've no reactions your dilemmas are my distractions
That's no way to go Franco Un-American, that's no way to go Franco Un-American
I never looked around never second guessed, then I read some Howard Zinn now I'm always depressed
And now I can't sleep from years of apathy, all because I read a little Noam Chomsky
I'm eating vegetation 'cause a Fast Food Nation, I wear uncomfortable shoes 'cause of globalization
I'm watching Michael Moore expose the awful truth, I'm listening to Public Enemy and Reagan Youth
I see no world peace 'cause of zealous armed forces, I eat no breath mints 'cause they're from de-hoofed horses
Now I can't believe what an absolute failure, the president's laughing 'cause we voted for Nader
That's no way to go Franco Un-American, where can we go Franco Un-American
I want to move north and be a Canadian, or hang down low with the nice Australians
I don't want to be another I don't care-ican, what are we gonna do Franco Franco
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I am from Canada and I lived in Australia for a year. From what I have seen, Australians have very much the same views that Americans have. They actually are American wannabes. In high schools there you have Australian kids walking around with sweatshirts that say no more than USA with the flag underneath. It's like a cool thing to do. So I don't really know what Mike is saying about moving to Australia. They don't really seem to give a shit about the environment, they are extremely racist towards their aboriginals and other different people, and they spend most of their money on sports programs and things like that instead of education. The schools there completely suck ass, I was in one. Canada is way more open-minded about a lot of issues, we are more like a lot of European Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Denmark. Australians are ass-kissing American wannabes. And just to finish up, I don't want to say that all Australians are like that, because they aren't. There's lots of Australians who aren't like that at all. But there is a fairly big relative concentration of the population that have the same redneck republican attitude of redneck republican Americans.