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.
The leg bone is connected to the foot bone
Is connected to the Export Processing Zones,
And it’s nothing we condone,
But everybody owns a pair of those shoes.
I looked a little closer at the walls of my house,
And to my surprise they were made out of glass.
So I made my way softly towards my front door,
But to my surprise it was bolted shut and barred.
The bloodstream gets its sugar from the intestine
Gets its sugar from the supermarket chain
That left the village drained.
Every high street the same soulless refrain.
I looked a little closer at the walls of my house,
And to my surprise they were made out of glass.
So I made my way softly towards my front door,
But to my surprise it was bolted shut and barred.
The newspaper reads like a list of charges brought against me.
So I’m changing my plea to an open address to the jury.
I confess that I was there on that grassy knoll,
And I confess I helped fake the moon landings as well.
But I confess I’ve yet to let slip my lowest low:
There’ve been times when I’ve pretended I didn’t know about my skeleton.
Your honour I swear that I can explain;
There are mitigating factors to consider in this case.
I was looking out of a window to the west.
Francis Fukuyama took me by the arm,
Won me over with his famous intellectual charm,
Swore this beauty wouldn’t do any harm.
We didn’t look east because the sun was setting.
It’s easy to lose yourself in the faintest reflection in the pane of a window.
I suspect that I’ve lost myself in the guilty reflection of the pain that it lets through.
I must confess I’ve started throwing stones around the house.
I don’t mean to moan but I never even signed the lease.
The newspaper reads like a list of charges brought against me.
So I’m changing my plea to an open address to the jury.
I confess that I was there on that grassy knoll,
And I confess I helped fake the moon landings as well.
But I confess I’ve yet to let slip my lowest low:
There’ve been times when I’ve pretended I didn’t know about my skeleton.
Is connected to the Export Processing Zones,
And it’s nothing we condone,
But everybody owns a pair of those shoes.
I looked a little closer at the walls of my house,
And to my surprise they were made out of glass.
So I made my way softly towards my front door,
But to my surprise it was bolted shut and barred.
The bloodstream gets its sugar from the intestine
Gets its sugar from the supermarket chain
That left the village drained.
Every high street the same soulless refrain.
I looked a little closer at the walls of my house,
And to my surprise they were made out of glass.
So I made my way softly towards my front door,
But to my surprise it was bolted shut and barred.
The newspaper reads like a list of charges brought against me.
So I’m changing my plea to an open address to the jury.
I confess that I was there on that grassy knoll,
And I confess I helped fake the moon landings as well.
But I confess I’ve yet to let slip my lowest low:
There’ve been times when I’ve pretended I didn’t know about my skeleton.
Your honour I swear that I can explain;
There are mitigating factors to consider in this case.
I was looking out of a window to the west.
Francis Fukuyama took me by the arm,
Won me over with his famous intellectual charm,
Swore this beauty wouldn’t do any harm.
We didn’t look east because the sun was setting.
It’s easy to lose yourself in the faintest reflection in the pane of a window.
I suspect that I’ve lost myself in the guilty reflection of the pain that it lets through.
I must confess I’ve started throwing stones around the house.
I don’t mean to moan but I never even signed the lease.
The newspaper reads like a list of charges brought against me.
So I’m changing my plea to an open address to the jury.
I confess that I was there on that grassy knoll,
And I confess I helped fake the moon landings as well.
But I confess I’ve yet to let slip my lowest low:
There’ve been times when I’ve pretended I didn’t know about my skeleton.
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