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.
Promise that you always will
Keep candles lit on the windowsill
You know I'll be comin' home
You know I never wanted to go away
But what am I supposed to say
When I hear the sounds of the trumpet call
Who says
All is fair in love and war
Your pictures kept close to my heart
Letters all but fall apart
Each night I read them over again
You know I never wanted to go away
But what am I supposed to say
When I hear the sounds of the trumpet call
Who says
You know I never wanted to go away
I swear
It's war
Keep candles lit on the windowsill
You know I'll be comin' home
You know I never wanted to go away
But what am I supposed to say
When I hear the sounds of the trumpet call
Who says
All is fair in love and war
Your pictures kept close to my heart
Letters all but fall apart
Each night I read them over again
You know I never wanted to go away
But what am I supposed to say
When I hear the sounds of the trumpet call
Who says
You know I never wanted to go away
I swear
It's war
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
i agree its about war. mabe not his personal experience becasue it doesnt sound all to personal to me and doesnt go into great detail.
a loved person at home with a vigil inthe windowsil to represent the hope of the soldier returning.
"who says all is fair in love and war"?
they know that anything can happen while hes away because nothing is fair in love and war. he has a few tangiable photos and letters that he reads over again but them "fallin apart" recognise the pain in himself that it was not his choice to go away and there is nothing he can say that will reassure the loved ones at home that he definately will be coming home.