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.
Faithless on the skids hung out to dry oh seen better days
With the sunlight fading like a tabloid and I I have found
All those double-barreled freedom fighters are in for themselves
And a call to arms has never been about anything else
Fire one more round
But hate is not a lone assailant
Hear the drummers pound
Listen to the homespun violent sound
Hatred on the prowl underneath an oh new guise garb and gown
And he's so persuasive when you look in his eyes all dumbfound
And the double-talkin' politicians expose their intimate lives
While the sheep are lowing for the shepherd to show he never arrives
Fire one more round
But hate is not a lone assailant
Hear the drummers pound
Listen to the homespun violent sound
Sound
Sound
Ooh I'll tell you how it
Pains to say this
Ugliness is ours
'Cause I would better lay in bed and
Maybe even sleep all day
Maybe sleep some more
Some more
Too
Yeah now
Suspicion is a powerful religion when it leads to the force on these shores
In the jungles of the midwest dwarf militia train for war right on course
Unlike the famous fable revolution won't yield a firework show
Unlike the famous fable revolution won't end on July the Fourth
Fire one more round
But hate is not a lone assailant
Hear the drummers pound
Listen to the homespun violent sound
Sound
Sound
Sound
Yeah sound
Yeah the homespun sound
I hear the sound
Yeah the homespun sound
With the sunlight fading like a tabloid and I I have found
All those double-barreled freedom fighters are in for themselves
And a call to arms has never been about anything else
Fire one more round
But hate is not a lone assailant
Hear the drummers pound
Listen to the homespun violent sound
Hatred on the prowl underneath an oh new guise garb and gown
And he's so persuasive when you look in his eyes all dumbfound
And the double-talkin' politicians expose their intimate lives
While the sheep are lowing for the shepherd to show he never arrives
Fire one more round
But hate is not a lone assailant
Hear the drummers pound
Listen to the homespun violent sound
Sound
Sound
Ooh I'll tell you how it
Pains to say this
Ugliness is ours
'Cause I would better lay in bed and
Maybe even sleep all day
Maybe sleep some more
Some more
Too
Yeah now
Suspicion is a powerful religion when it leads to the force on these shores
In the jungles of the midwest dwarf militia train for war right on course
Unlike the famous fable revolution won't yield a firework show
Unlike the famous fable revolution won't end on July the Fourth
Fire one more round
But hate is not a lone assailant
Hear the drummers pound
Listen to the homespun violent sound
Sound
Sound
Sound
Yeah sound
Yeah the homespun sound
I hear the sound
Yeah the homespun sound
Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget
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
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
this was written in the aftermath of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal building by Timothy McVeigh, from there I imagine the message should be pretty clearly about domestic terrorism groups and the landscape that allows them to flourish