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.
Here we go, vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Here we go, in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Test for echo
Some kind of trouble on the sensory screen
Camera curves over caved-in cop cars
Bleacher-creatures, would-be desperadoes
Clutch at plausible deniability
Don't touch that dial
We're in denial
Until the showcase trial on TV
Here we go, vertigo
Video, vertigo
Test for echo
Some kind of pictures on the sense o'clock news
Miles of yellow tape, silhouetted chalk lines
Tough-talking hood boys in pro-team logo knock-offs
Conform to uniforms of some corporate entity
Don't change that station
It's Gangsta Nation
Now crime's in syndication on TV
Oh yeah, what a show
Vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Touch and go in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Test for echo
Here we go
Vertigo
Video
Vertigo
Some kind of drama live on satellite
Hidden camera coverage from the crime scene to the courtroom
Nail-biting hood boys in borrowed ties and jackets
Clutching at the straws of respectability
Can't do the time?
Don't do the crime
And wind up in the perp walk on TV
Oh, yeah
Here we go, vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
What a show
Vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Here we go in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Test for echo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Here we go, in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Test for echo
Some kind of trouble on the sensory screen
Camera curves over caved-in cop cars
Bleacher-creatures, would-be desperadoes
Clutch at plausible deniability
Don't touch that dial
We're in denial
Until the showcase trial on TV
Here we go, vertigo
Video, vertigo
Test for echo
Some kind of pictures on the sense o'clock news
Miles of yellow tape, silhouetted chalk lines
Tough-talking hood boys in pro-team logo knock-offs
Conform to uniforms of some corporate entity
Don't change that station
It's Gangsta Nation
Now crime's in syndication on TV
Oh yeah, what a show
Vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Touch and go in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Test for echo
Here we go
Vertigo
Video
Vertigo
Some kind of drama live on satellite
Hidden camera coverage from the crime scene to the courtroom
Nail-biting hood boys in borrowed ties and jackets
Clutching at the straws of respectability
Can't do the time?
Don't do the crime
And wind up in the perp walk on TV
Oh, yeah
Here we go, vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
What a show
Vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Here we go in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo
Test for echo
Lyrics submitted by NeoTwilight
Test for Echo Lyrics as written by Geddy Lee Alex Lifeson
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Jesse with the long hair....
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
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
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
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.
I think I agree with the general consensus. The song is talking about how we have turned crime and illicit activity into no more than a form of entertainment. Think about it, we have NCIS, Law and Order, Breaking Bad, even House of Cards. Some more white-collar crime than others, but none the less they are crimes that have been written out with some names and turned into entertainment. The term Vertigo, meaning "a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height, or caused by disease affecting the inner ear or the vestibular nerve; giddiness" could be talking about society's level of sensitivity to horrific imagery. I mean, come on, I never really watched NCIS until recently when I stopped on it flipping channels and was unaware that I would be seeing a family beaten to death with a baseball bat and left bleeding on the floor as their 5 year-old daughter walks through the room. Can someone please tell me how exactly that is entertaining? Where are we headed next in entertainment?