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.
Eli, the barrow boy
Of the old town
Sells coal and marigolds
And he cries out
All down the day
Below the tamaracks
She is crying
Corn cobs and candle wax for the buying
All down the day
Would I could afford to buy my love a fine robe
Made of gold and silk Arabian thread
She is dead and gone and lying in a pine grove
And I must push my barrow all the day
And I must push my barrow all the day
Eli, the barrow boy
When they found him
Dressed all in corduroy
He had drowned in
The river down the way
They laid his body down in a church yard
But still when the moon is out
With his push cart
He calls down the day
Would I could afford to buy my love a fine gown
Made of gold and silk Arabian thread
But, I am dead and gone and lying in a church ground
And still I push my barrow all the day
Still I push my barrow all the day
Of the old town
Sells coal and marigolds
And he cries out
All down the day
Below the tamaracks
She is crying
Corn cobs and candle wax for the buying
All down the day
Would I could afford to buy my love a fine robe
Made of gold and silk Arabian thread
She is dead and gone and lying in a pine grove
And I must push my barrow all the day
And I must push my barrow all the day
Eli, the barrow boy
When they found him
Dressed all in corduroy
He had drowned in
The river down the way
They laid his body down in a church yard
But still when the moon is out
With his push cart
He calls down the day
Would I could afford to buy my love a fine gown
Made of gold and silk Arabian thread
But, I am dead and gone and lying in a church ground
And still I push my barrow all the day
Still I push my barrow all the day
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in my opinion, eli certainly did not kill his lover. they were probably buried in separate places because they were both poor, and when you're poor in the 19th century, they bury you where they can (unless your family owned a plot, etc.)
however, perhaps eli the barrow boy committed suicide. i'm not a person who jumps the gun & supposes every song is about suicide, but in this case it seems that the whole point of eli's life was to cater to his lover. the only reason he works is in hopes that he might make her life a little bit later; hence, when she died he had nothing to live for.
of course, he could have just drowned accidentally, the answer is ambiguous, but drowning was a much popular way to kill oneself back then, especially if you were poor & had no access to a gun or various poisons, etc.
that's my take on it.