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 was meant for the stage,
I was meant for the curtain.
I was meant to tread these boards,
Of this much I am certain.
I was meant for the crowd,
I was meant for the shouting.
I was meant to raise these hands
With quiet all about me. oh, oh.
Mother, please, be proud.
Father, be forgiven.
Even though you told me
'son, you'll never make a living.' oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
The heavens at my birth
Intended me for stardom,
Rays of light shone down on me
And all my sins were pardoned.
I was meant for applause.
I was meant for derision.
Nothing short of fate itself
Has affected my decision. oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
I was meant for the curtain.
I was meant to tread these boards,
Of this much I am certain.
I was meant for the crowd,
I was meant for the shouting.
I was meant to raise these hands
With quiet all about me. oh, oh.
Mother, please, be proud.
Father, be forgiven.
Even though you told me
'son, you'll never make a living.' oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
The heavens at my birth
Intended me for stardom,
Rays of light shone down on me
And all my sins were pardoned.
I was meant for applause.
I was meant for derision.
Nothing short of fate itself
Has affected my decision. oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
Lyrics submitted by sendthestars, edited by Amasterd20
I Was Meant for the Stage Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Actually, if you look at the language of the song, you end up with a much different interpretation. It's made primarily of feminine rhymes ("curtain"/"certain" "shouting"/"about me") in relatively forced context ("of this much, I am certain"), which are, in English, pretty awkward. Furthermore, the lines are delivered a repetitive, plodding tone, and even the bridge (such as it is) is just an instrumental repetition of the verses until it becomes a cacophony. Finally, the entire album is full examples of slow verses that lead into moving choruses (put to much better use in “Shanty for the Arethusa” and “The Gymnast, High Above the Ground”) but all of the other songs that use this basic formula manage to do so without becoming tedious, while these lyrics are plodding and self-indulgent. Taken together, they sort of indicate that the speaker isn't really someone to be revered. He's a poor lyricist, an unimaginative songwriter and audacious enough to declare that he's a child of destiny without really showing anything for it. Maybe it's just because I know so many, but it seems as though it's a self-indulgent art student waiting for his comeuppance, which arrives in the cacophony at the end, unlike Shanty, which ends with a continuation of the baseline, indicating that the corsairs have returned to sea (or something similar), and Gymnast, which ends with a repetition in utter calm, indicating that the performance has ended and the excitement of the choruses is over.
That's a really cool interpretaton and i never thought of it that way.<br /> <br /> You might want to work on your own wording though. (or use more than one paragraph =D) At first read-through i thought you were insulting meloy, instead of stating the personality of the speaker (which is what i believe you meant to say).