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.
There's too many voices living in my head
When I go to sleep at night they stay awake instead
They make me take a walk in the middle of the night
And I slice people, dice people on my midnight flight
I don't want to do it
But they make me do it
Please don't put me through it
My midnight flight
I wake up in the morning, and I think it's just a dream
But then I see the bodies on my tiny TV screen
I put my plastic clothing in my washing machine
And it cleanses my senses of the horrors that they've seen
Something isn't normal
But I can't describe normal
Please don't make me normal
Make me obscene
I don't grow, but the death toll does
I wonder why we do it, but the answer's just 'because'
Last night I ate the heart of a girl of age just two
And when her mother found her, you should've heard her coo
Oh my little baby
Killed by someone crazy
Let's hope it's just a phase
He's going through
Cause I'm not understanding
I can't forsee the ending
There's no use pretending
The sky is blue
La la la, la la la do do do
Do do do oh oh oh, oh oh oh
When I go to sleep at night they stay awake instead
They make me take a walk in the middle of the night
And I slice people, dice people on my midnight flight
I don't want to do it
But they make me do it
Please don't put me through it
My midnight flight
I wake up in the morning, and I think it's just a dream
But then I see the bodies on my tiny TV screen
I put my plastic clothing in my washing machine
And it cleanses my senses of the horrors that they've seen
Something isn't normal
But I can't describe normal
Please don't make me normal
Make me obscene
I don't grow, but the death toll does
I wonder why we do it, but the answer's just 'because'
Last night I ate the heart of a girl of age just two
And when her mother found her, you should've heard her coo
Oh my little baby
Killed by someone crazy
Let's hope it's just a phase
He's going through
Cause I'm not understanding
I can't forsee the ending
There's no use pretending
The sky is blue
La la la, la la la do do do
Do do do oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Lyrics submitted by RickZ
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
This song is great---creepy, but in a good way.