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.
With nothing to lose you'd waste away
Obscure in exile
They've witnessed the times
You've gone astray
Whose fault? now you're thinking...
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
And it feels now
Just like heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
So strange are the ways,
They all have changed
Still life it stays the same
A break from the past
Could make it last
Maybe just a little longer
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
You surrender
Love under will
Rest assured you're adored
And it feels now
Just lie heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
This time, no tears,
Just one last chance to see you prove
Stay strong, no fears
There is a change that's
Coming through
Hold on my love
Hold on...
Obscure in exile
They've witnessed the times
You've gone astray
Whose fault? now you're thinking...
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
And it feels now
Just like heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
So strange are the ways,
They all have changed
Still life it stays the same
A break from the past
Could make it last
Maybe just a little longer
There's nothing to prove
A message from the crowd
To the shore...
You surrender
Love under will
Rest assured you're adored
And it feels now
Just lie heaven's coming down
Your soul shakes free
As its conscience hits the ground
This time, no tears,
Just one last chance to see you prove
Stay strong, no fears
There is a change that's
Coming through
Hold on my love
Hold on...
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I know Jeff likes to use occult symbolism a lot, and the three words 'love under will' have a very suggestive meaning, as part of the statement 'Love is the Law, Love under Will', which is part of the Law of Thelema, or True Will. This is Aleister Crowley's turf.
Totally. The soul shakes free of the conscience when True Will, which is the aim of Thelema, is realised and acted upon. <br /> <br /> "These signs, this fate<br /> Takes a path you didn't choose"<br /> <br /> Because your True Self chose before you, as a separated consciousness, came into being. Your consciousness is a way of separating your True Self from its innate divinity, so as to experience creation and the wonder of Being, because it can't from its natural point of view; that is, omniscience.<br /> <br /> Was Jeff a Thelemite? Are there other references to Thelema in his lyrics?
This is a tricky one. The imagery's very vivid and pleasantly haphazard, but, the meaning's fairly simple, if not easy to describe. It sounds as though the singer's talking about/talking to a person who has fallen into their 'normal' life to the point of being locked in it. Acceptance bringing defeat, that sort of thing, chained by their history. The 'narrator', in this case, is describing the sort of change it would take - namely, finding love in a new direction - in order to break free from the norm. It almost guarentees a complete change of the person in question and their overall way of life, but, he's promising that it will become a change for the best. "Heaven Coming Down", in this case, is the proverbial 'bliss' falling onto the person all at once, crashing and painful, but in the end, much better than he/she has been living.
very good explanation.
Greatest Tea party song !
I've no idea what it's about but it's an amazing song.
Great song.
good song, but theres a mistake in the lyrics.
"A message from the crowd To the shore..."
should be:
"snapshot from the crowd to the shore, baby"
This is the first song I remember hearing when I was a kid. My mom is a huge Tea Party fan. Beautiful.
This song is absolutely beautiful. The arpeggios in the guitar almost make you feel like you're in free fall and never want to come down.
I remember seeing Tea Party at the Friendship Festival 2003. The moment they started playing Heaven Coming Down it started to pour. As if God was saying "I heard you, man." This is a song that I like to play when I need that lift. And it is a constant reminder of that good time.
If you listen to the words, regardless of the use of the occult references or just the broken meter of the lyrics, the title "Heaven Coming Down" just implies being showered with grace. The rest of the song is related to rebirth. But what's more important is that if you close your eyes and don't even listen to the lyrics, you feel the meaning.
Anyone agree or dod I just sound like a fanatic?
this is the most beautiful song ever. it will always be my favorite tea party song. jeff's vocals are amazing and the instrumentals are phenominal. this song always has the abilty to calm me down and take all the stresses away.
There are so many errors in this it's ridiculous.