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.
All my people in the crowd
Grab a partner, take it down
It's me against the music (uh-huh)
It's just me (and me)
Yeah (come on)
Ooh
Hey, Britney
Are you ready?
Uh-huh, are you? (Uh)
And no one cares
It's whipping my hair, it's pulling my waist
To hell with stares
The sweat is dripping all over my face (to hell with it)
And no one's there
I'm the only one dancing up in this place (it's just me)
Tonight I'm here
Feel the beat of the drum, gotta keep with that bass (uh)
I'm up against the speaker, tryna take on the music
It's like a competition, me against the beat
I wanna get in the zone (get in the zone)
I wanna get in the zone (wanna get in the zone)
If you really wanna battle saddle up and get your rhythm
Tryna hit it chic-a-tah
In a minute, I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on)
I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on) (hey, hey, hey)
All my people on the floor, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people wanting more, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people 'round and 'round, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
How would you like a friendly competition? Let's take on the song
Let's take on the song, let's take on the song
It's you and me, baby, we're the music, time to party all night long
All night long (all night long)
Oh, huh (uh), yeah (uh), let's go (uh)
We're almost there (oh)
I'm feeling it bad and I can't explain
My soul is bare
My hips are moving at a rapid pace (I'm going crazy)
Can you feel it burn?
From the tip of my toes, running through my veins (ooh)
And now's your turn
Let me see what ya got, don't hesitate (here we go)
I'm up against the speaker, tryna take on the music
It's like a competition, me against the beat
I wanna get in the zone (get in the zone)
I wanna get in the zone (wanna get in the zone)
If you really wanna battle saddle up and get your rhythm
Tryna hit it chic-a-tah
In a minute, I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on)
I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on) (hey, hey, hey)
All my people on the floor, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people wanting more, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people 'round and 'round, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
Get on the floor
Baby, lose control (yeah)
Just work your body (uh-huh)
And let it go (let it go)
If you wanna party
Just grab somebody
Hey, Britney, we can dance all night long
Hey Britney, you say you wanna lose control
Come over here, I got something to show ya
Sexy lady, I'd rather see you bare your soul
If you think you're so hot, better show me what you got (hey, hey, hey)
All my people in the crowd
Let me see you dance (grab a partner take it down)
Come on, Britney, lose control (all my people, all my people)
Watch you take it down (grab a partner take it d-)
Get on the floor
Baby, lose control
Just work your body
And let it go
If you wanna party
Just grab somebody
Hey, Britney, we can dance all night long
All my people on the floor, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people wanting more, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people 'round and 'round, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people in the crowd
Let me see you dance (grab a partner, take it down)
Come on, Britney, take it down
Make the music dance (grab a partner, take it down)
All my people 'round and 'round
Party all night long (grab a partner, take it down)
Come on, Britney, lose control (all my people, all my people)
Watch you take it down (grab a partner, take it d-)
Grab a partner, take it down
It's me against the music (uh-huh)
It's just me (and me)
Yeah (come on)
Ooh
Hey, Britney
Are you ready?
Uh-huh, are you? (Uh)
And no one cares
It's whipping my hair, it's pulling my waist
To hell with stares
The sweat is dripping all over my face (to hell with it)
And no one's there
I'm the only one dancing up in this place (it's just me)
Tonight I'm here
Feel the beat of the drum, gotta keep with that bass (uh)
I'm up against the speaker, tryna take on the music
It's like a competition, me against the beat
I wanna get in the zone (get in the zone)
I wanna get in the zone (wanna get in the zone)
If you really wanna battle saddle up and get your rhythm
Tryna hit it chic-a-tah
In a minute, I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on)
I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on) (hey, hey, hey)
All my people on the floor, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people wanting more, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people 'round and 'round, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
How would you like a friendly competition? Let's take on the song
Let's take on the song, let's take on the song
It's you and me, baby, we're the music, time to party all night long
All night long (all night long)
Oh, huh (uh), yeah (uh), let's go (uh)
We're almost there (oh)
I'm feeling it bad and I can't explain
My soul is bare
My hips are moving at a rapid pace (I'm going crazy)
Can you feel it burn?
From the tip of my toes, running through my veins (ooh)
And now's your turn
Let me see what ya got, don't hesitate (here we go)
I'm up against the speaker, tryna take on the music
It's like a competition, me against the beat
I wanna get in the zone (get in the zone)
I wanna get in the zone (wanna get in the zone)
If you really wanna battle saddle up and get your rhythm
Tryna hit it chic-a-tah
In a minute, I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on)
I'ma take-a ya on (I'ma take you on) (hey, hey, hey)
All my people on the floor, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people wanting more, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people 'round and 'round, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
Get on the floor
Baby, lose control (yeah)
Just work your body (uh-huh)
And let it go (let it go)
If you wanna party
Just grab somebody
Hey, Britney, we can dance all night long
Hey Britney, you say you wanna lose control
Come over here, I got something to show ya
Sexy lady, I'd rather see you bare your soul
If you think you're so hot, better show me what you got (hey, hey, hey)
All my people in the crowd
Let me see you dance (grab a partner take it down)
Come on, Britney, lose control (all my people, all my people)
Watch you take it down (grab a partner take it d-)
Get on the floor
Baby, lose control
Just work your body
And let it go
If you wanna party
Just grab somebody
Hey, Britney, we can dance all night long
All my people on the floor, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people wanting more, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people 'round and 'round, let me see you dance (let me see ya)
All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance (I wanna see ya)
All my people in the crowd
Let me see you dance (grab a partner, take it down)
Come on, Britney, take it down
Make the music dance (grab a partner, take it down)
All my people 'round and 'round
Party all night long (grab a partner, take it down)
Come on, Britney, lose control (all my people, all my people)
Watch you take it down (grab a partner, take it d-)
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Fast Car
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Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I'll be honest, I love Britney, but the mistake with this song wasn't Britney...it was Madonna. Britney had already done this song, but Britney let Madonna hear it and asked if she wanted to sing in it. Well Madonna ended up remixing the entire thing. I've heard clips of what the song was supposed to be like, and it was actually better. I believe Britney should have left the original. She debuted the song on the NFL kickoff 2 years. That's what the song was supposed to be like. Madonna came in and ruined the song...shame on Britney for letting Madonna do it, and shame on Madonna for destroying a song.