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.
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could make everybody poor just so you could be rich
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could watch everybody work while you just lay on your back
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could take all the love without giving any back
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
And so we cannot know ourselves or what we'd really do
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
If you could make your own money and then give it to everybody
Would you do it?
No no no no no no no no no
If you knew all the answers and could give it to the masses
Would you do it?
No, no, no, no, no, no, are you crazy?
It's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want
Because you cannot know yourself or what you'd really do
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ah (ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
Ah (ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
Ah (Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
Ah (ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could make everybody poor just so you could be rich
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could watch everybody work while you just lay on your back
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
If you could take all the love without giving any back
Would you do it?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
And so we cannot know ourselves or what we'd really do
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
If you could make your own money and then give it to everybody
Would you do it?
No no no no no no no no no
If you knew all the answers and could give it to the masses
Would you do it?
No, no, no, no, no, no, are you crazy?
It's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want
Because you cannot know yourself or what you'd really do
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ah (ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
Ah (ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
Ah (Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
Ah (ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya)
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
Lyrics submitted by christsizeshoes
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song Lyrics as written by Remy Smith Joseph Cartagena
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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feedthegoldfish and thihihi seem right on to me. It's not a knock at a certain group of people alone and it's questioning the way human beings think in general, not their political views.
No matter your viewpoint, it's pretty difficult to tell what you would do in a situation. Someone who says they would share all of their wealth would possibly just make excuses about how they don't have enough to share or believe that they worked hard and want to give everything to their heir. Someone who says they wouldn't give a dime of their fortune away may give it all away to researching a disease they lost a loved one to or to people who helped them when they needed it most.
The "yeah yeah yeah yeah" and "no no no no" are like a flood of common thought. If you could watch everybody work would you? A lot of people would be fine with it, but there are people who need to see everything through themselves or people who just need to be working and contributing. If you could make your own money would you horde it all? Even if you were counterfeiting you might want to slip some money to try to help someone who needs it...someone needs to be put in a situation to see how they really think.