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.
It's the changing of the guards, straight from mailbox to alarms and the
kitty cats did scream oh how they howled behind the house - well the big one
laying in the frying pan talk around the town is you've been listening you
cover it up just as fast as you can cause you're trying to keep it from
growing and getting big
And they will all be heirs to their own thrones and old homes without a
downtown to grow old in or a son to telephone. And either side of paper
is erupting a snake your pulling trains to Oakland in the puring rain well
every drop will count when they tally it up and you always learned a lot
from the deep end of faith.
The kids were pushing their fingers through tarmac on pavement the
lightning was breathing in faces and either side of paper is erupting a
snake were pulling trains to Oakland in the pouring rain well every drop
will count when they tally it up and you always learned a lot from the
deep end of faith and you worry yourself sick
kitty cats did scream oh how they howled behind the house - well the big one
laying in the frying pan talk around the town is you've been listening you
cover it up just as fast as you can cause you're trying to keep it from
growing and getting big
And they will all be heirs to their own thrones and old homes without a
downtown to grow old in or a son to telephone. And either side of paper
is erupting a snake your pulling trains to Oakland in the puring rain well
every drop will count when they tally it up and you always learned a lot
from the deep end of faith.
The kids were pushing their fingers through tarmac on pavement the
lightning was breathing in faces and either side of paper is erupting a
snake were pulling trains to Oakland in the pouring rain well every drop
will count when they tally it up and you always learned a lot from the
deep end of faith and you worry yourself sick
Lyrics submitted by prayingmantis84
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Baraga is a town in Michigan...
Baraga Embankment? Maybe they're talking about how the town was so protective of their town of outside influence(a veritable cultural embankment) that they isolated themselves... The kids of the town became restless, to the point of ignoring warnings from the town: "you're pulling trains to Oakland in the pouring rain well every drop will count when they tally it up and you always learned a lot from the deep end of faith." Their restlessness became to much and they threw themselves off "the deep end of faith" hoping they'd find something more outside ("pulling trains to Oakland") of their protective little town.
"talk around the town is you've been listening you cover it up just as fast as you can cause you're trying to keep it from growing and getting big" He tried to stop himself from wondering what could possibly be out there beyond this... "And they will all be heirs to their own thrones and old homes without a downtown to grow old in or a son to telephone." Without their kids, the xenophobic elders will rot in their own "thrones" lonely and sad... No one wants this for their parents so "you worry yourself sick."
In the song Heard Iron Bug, "They're Coming to Town" there's a line "and you worry yourself sick, in a town that doesn't give a shit"... They're probably expanding on this theme...
It's not that complicated once you get around all the metaphors and shit. :D