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.
Well her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Well I feel like walking the world
Like walking the world
And you can hear she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember
What you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on a wire
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
And she's taller than most
And she's looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from the page of a magazine
She makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower, yeah
The power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me, oh-oh
(Suddenly I see) hey, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Well I feel like walking the world
Like walking the world
And you can hear she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember
What you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on a wire
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
And she's taller than most
And she's looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from the page of a magazine
She makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower, yeah
The power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
(Suddenly I see)
She got the power to be, the power to give
The power to see, yeah, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me, oh-oh
(Suddenly I see) hey, yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
(Suddenly I see) yeah
Suddenly I see (suddenly I see)
Why the hell it means so much to me
Lyrics submitted by LillyDarko
Suddenly I See Lyrics as written by Kt Tunstall
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't see the point of every one arguing over this song. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what it means- music is an art form, so how each person responds to it is completely subjective. For me personally, I think the song can be interpreted as a girl/woman who has a friend whom she greatly admires and wants to be like- someone who is beautiful, inside and out; someone who lights up the room and makes others happy just to be around her etc. It could be stretched to indicate some kind of lesbian connotation in my opinion, but at face value I'd say she simply idolises this girl and wants to be like her. :) Cheers