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.
Ice age, heat wave, can't complain
If the world's at large, why should I remain?
Walked away to another planet
Gonna find another place, maybe one I can stand
I move on to another day
To a whole new town with a whole new way
Went to the porch to have a thought
Got to the door and, again, I couldn't stop
You don't know where and you don't know when
But you still got your words and you got your friends
Walk along to another day
Work a little harder, work another way
Well uh-uh, baby, I ain't got no plan
Well I float on, maybe would you understand?
Gonna float on, maybe would you understand?
Well I float on, maybe would you understand?
The days get shorter and the nights get cold
I like the autumn but this place is getting old
I pack up my belongings and I head for the coast
It might not be a lot but I feel like I'm making the most
The days get longer and the nights smell green
I guess it's not surprising but it's spring and I should leave
I like songs about drifters, books about the same
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane
Walked on off to another spot
I still haven't gotten anywhere that I want
Did I want love? Did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?
The moths beat themselves to death against the lights
Adding their breeze to the summer nights
Outside, water, like air, was gray
I didn't know what I had that day
Walk a little farther to another plan
You said that you did, but you didn't understand
I know that starting over's not what life's about
But my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud, I couldn't hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud, ah
If the world's at large, why should I remain?
Walked away to another planet
Gonna find another place, maybe one I can stand
I move on to another day
To a whole new town with a whole new way
Went to the porch to have a thought
Got to the door and, again, I couldn't stop
You don't know where and you don't know when
But you still got your words and you got your friends
Walk along to another day
Work a little harder, work another way
Well uh-uh, baby, I ain't got no plan
Well I float on, maybe would you understand?
Gonna float on, maybe would you understand?
Well I float on, maybe would you understand?
The days get shorter and the nights get cold
I like the autumn but this place is getting old
I pack up my belongings and I head for the coast
It might not be a lot but I feel like I'm making the most
The days get longer and the nights smell green
I guess it's not surprising but it's spring and I should leave
I like songs about drifters, books about the same
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane
Walked on off to another spot
I still haven't gotten anywhere that I want
Did I want love? Did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?
The moths beat themselves to death against the lights
Adding their breeze to the summer nights
Outside, water, like air, was gray
I didn't know what I had that day
Walk a little farther to another plan
You said that you did, but you didn't understand
I know that starting over's not what life's about
But my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud, I couldn't hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud, ah
Lyrics submitted by RebeccaSaxon, edited by ftpk, LymonLemon, camila521
The World at Large Lyrics as written by Eric Judy Dann Gallucci
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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This song seems to describe how i've been feeling for the past couple weeks. I am starting to question my place in the world, and there have been times when I just want to leave it all. Wisconsin is killing me, and I do seriously want to just head to the coast. Ive done so many things to search for some type of meaning in my life, and I continue to not find it. I know that Im young and that eventually, I will find something, but until then, I feel like I have no plan. Like he said, "I like songs about drifters-books about the same. They both seem to make me feel a little less insane." This song is empathy for me, it allows me to realize that I'm not the only person feeling this way. And its nice to know.