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 get my whiskey from a well, except on holidays
Then it's the top shelf
But tonight I don't mind if I spend a little more
Cause you're a tolerant woman and the world is at war
I know you witnessed my decline
You used to push back the darkness like a floodlight
But tonight that's a secret, like the soul of a whore
That if you want to have fun you'll just have to ignore
Now I let my troubles solve themselves
I used to get involved, but I'm just no help
But tonight let's pretend that we're just like we were
Let me stay until the morning, I will sleep on the floor
We can talk in circles, no dollar figures
Just what is owed or paid. We can make predictions
I know you see the future and I agree
We agree, tonight's not happening
When I got dry as a desert, I got mean
I was lonely and empty as a canteen
With no anesthetic you're found to be sore
But tonight I am drinking, all peaceful and warm
And just when I got fed up with the grey sky
The sun came out of nowhere like a bar fight
And it knocked out the wind and it bruised me with light
and I felt grateful for living like I feel tonight
Well, I know you feel safer in a group
Where you could be anyone or they could be you
But tonight, we'll take risks that you can afford
You still have bars on your windows and a hole in your doo
We can talk in circles around the dirty mirrors
Night trickles down our throats
And we can make a time line to last our whole lives
But we don't know, no one knows
What's further up the road
Just wait and see
All in time
Then it's the top shelf
But tonight I don't mind if I spend a little more
Cause you're a tolerant woman and the world is at war
I know you witnessed my decline
You used to push back the darkness like a floodlight
But tonight that's a secret, like the soul of a whore
That if you want to have fun you'll just have to ignore
Now I let my troubles solve themselves
I used to get involved, but I'm just no help
But tonight let's pretend that we're just like we were
Let me stay until the morning, I will sleep on the floor
We can talk in circles, no dollar figures
Just what is owed or paid. We can make predictions
I know you see the future and I agree
We agree, tonight's not happening
When I got dry as a desert, I got mean
I was lonely and empty as a canteen
With no anesthetic you're found to be sore
But tonight I am drinking, all peaceful and warm
And just when I got fed up with the grey sky
The sun came out of nowhere like a bar fight
And it knocked out the wind and it bruised me with light
and I felt grateful for living like I feel tonight
Well, I know you feel safer in a group
Where you could be anyone or they could be you
But tonight, we'll take risks that you can afford
You still have bars on your windows and a hole in your doo
We can talk in circles around the dirty mirrors
Night trickles down our throats
And we can make a time line to last our whole lives
But we don't know, no one knows
What's further up the road
Just wait and see
All in time
Lyrics submitted by keely, edited by TheGameNeededMe
Well Whiskey Lyrics as written by Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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i think that when he gets whiskey from a well "Except on holidays, then it's the top shelf"
i think the holidays is him going home, and the top shelf being where his parents keep their whiskey. holidays are usually a time of family, and i don't think conor is an exception to that, and the top shelf implies that it was hidden from someone.
as well, "You still have bars on your windows and a hole in your door" seems to represent either some sort of psychiatric ward, or a prison. bars on the window to prevent escape, as well as a hole in the door, a small window, to be able to see what the person is doing inside.
and synergyx, this song's on the Lua EP