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.
When you came to me with your bad dreams and your fears
Was easy to see, you'd been crying
Seems like everywhere you turn, catastrophe it reigns
But who really profits from the dying?
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
I could hold you in my arms, oh
I could hold you forever
When you kissed my lips, with my mouth so full of questions
My worried mind, that you quiet
Place your hands on my face
Close my eyes and say
Love is a poor man's food
With no proper side
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
So now we see how it is
This fist begets the spear
Weapons of war
Symptoms of madness
Don't let your eyes refuse to see
Don't let your ears refuse to hear
You ain't never going to shake this sense of sadness
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold on forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold on forever
Was easy to see, you'd been crying
Seems like everywhere you turn, catastrophe it reigns
But who really profits from the dying?
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
I could hold you in my arms, oh
I could hold you forever
When you kissed my lips, with my mouth so full of questions
My worried mind, that you quiet
Place your hands on my face
Close my eyes and say
Love is a poor man's food
With no proper side
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
So now we see how it is
This fist begets the spear
Weapons of war
Symptoms of madness
Don't let your eyes refuse to see
Don't let your ears refuse to hear
You ain't never going to shake this sense of sadness
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold on forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold on forever
Lyrics submitted by the_aloof, edited by softhought
Hold You In My Arms Lyrics as written by Raycharles Jack Lamontagne Ethan Johns
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I read somewhere that it's about a love affair, and he's the other man. The first verse is about how he's emotionally there for her, "but who really profits from the dying" means that him being there for her while she stays with her spouse doesn't fix the situation for anyone. In the second verse, he's wondering what this affair means for them which has turned physical, and though her kisses help him stop fretting, through it all he would hold her forever and be with her if she would be with him forever instead. The last verse is about the danger of what they're doing, and the reality that she could be happy with just him, and he would happy to hold her forever.