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.
All my thoughts are all lies
All my thoughts are all lies
All my bones are so tired
All my bones are so tired
So young and so handsome
So easily led
They told me to wait
I said
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream
And I've paid my dues
Just to get them all back
A simple man with simple desire
What should I have said?
What should I have done?
The horses are here
The damage is done
So just take off your shirt
And just take off your dress
We can go dancing
On a Saturday
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream
And I've paid my dues
Just to get them all back
A simple man with simple desire
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream (I'm just a skeleton)
And I've paid my dues
Just to get them all back (I'm just a skeleton)
A simple man with simple desire (I'm just a skeleton)
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
All my thoughts are all lies
All my bones are so tired
All my bones are so tired
So young and so handsome
So easily led
They told me to wait
I said
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream
And I've paid my dues
Just to get them all back
A simple man with simple desire
What should I have said?
What should I have done?
The horses are here
The damage is done
So just take off your shirt
And just take off your dress
We can go dancing
On a Saturday
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
It makes a man out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
You take the fun out of me
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream
And I've paid my dues
Just to get them all back
A simple man with simple desire
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream (I'm just a skeleton)
And I've paid my dues
Just to get them all back (I'm just a skeleton)
A simple man with simple desire (I'm just a skeleton)
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
I'm just a skeleton
Lyrics submitted by ApplesInMono
Skeleton Lyrics as written by Gordon Moakes Russell Lissack
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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
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
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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 is the correct lyrics, pulled off of the bloc party website:
'All my thoughts are all lies All my thoughts are all lies All my bones are so tired All my bones are so tired So young and so handsome So easily led They told me to wait I said
It makes a man out of me You take the fun out of me
And I've been consistent to the fucking dream And I've paid my dues Just to get them all back A simple man with simple desire
What should I have said? What should I have done? The horses are here The damage is done So just take off your shirt And just take off your dress We can go dancing On a Saturday
It makes a man out of me You take the fun out of me
And I've been consistent...
I'm just a skeleton
And I've been consistent...
I'm just a skeleton'