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.
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake
Whoah, she's an angel from the Innerlake
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reelin'
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "Jump back Jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
She's straight from the Bronx
Hung off the line
She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds
Even them dance hall hacks
From the west side of the tracks
Move in close to catch her timin'
She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown, and her eyes ain't either
Round and round and round and round
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, 'til the dawn
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reelin'
She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown, and her eyes ain't either
Round and round and round and round
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, all night
Whoah, she's an angel from the Innerlake
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reelin'
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "Jump back Jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
She's straight from the Bronx
Hung off the line
She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds
Even them dance hall hacks
From the west side of the tracks
Move in close to catch her timin'
She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown, and her eyes ain't either
Round and round and round and round
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, 'til the dawn
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reelin'
She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown, and her eyes ain't either
Round and round and round and round
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, all night
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I loved the version Bruce did on his Devils and Dust tour. Just him, on the piano... BEAUTIFUL!! I hope it comes out on CD soon.
This has been released on disc 1 of the "Tracks" box set
i too saw this on the Devils and Dust tour. it was amazing. i have heard versions of this on the radio and in past concerts. i think it talks about a guy who likes a girl, but doesnt know what she thinks about him because of the mixed messages she sends him
This is song is so powerful, it's unbelievable. if you just close your eyes and listen, you feel it...
For any regular artist, this would have been their masterpiece. Bruce could afford to release it as a rarity.
This has been released on disc 1 on the "Tracks" box set
I know it is. But Tracks is a collection of rarities, mainly for Bruce collectors and hardcore fans.