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.
Here from the king's mountain view
Here from the wild dream come true
Feast like a sultan, I do
On treasures and flesh never few
But I, I would wish it all away
If I thought I'd lose you just one day
The devil and his had me down
In love with the dark side I'd found
Dabblin' all the way down
Up to my neck, soon to drown
But you changed that all for me
Lifted me up, turned me round
So I
I
I
I
I would
I would
I would
Wish this all away
Prayed like a martyr dusk to dawn
Begged like a hooker all night long
Tempted the devil with my song
And got what I wanted all along
But I
And I would
If I could
And I would
Wish it away
Wish it away
Wish it all away
Wanna wish it all away
No prize that could hold sway
Or justify my giving away my center
So if I could I'd wish it all away
If I thought tomorrow would take you away
You, my peace of mind, my all, my center
Just trying to hold on one more day
Damn my eyes!
Damn my eyes!
Damn my eyes if they should compromise the fulcrum
Wants and needs divide me then I might as well be gone
Shine on forever
Shine on benevolent sun
Shine down upon the broken
Shine until the two become one
Shine on forever
Shine on benevolent sun
Shine down upon the severed
Shine until the two become one
Divided, I'll wither away
Divided, I'll wither away
Shine down upon the many
Light our way, benevolent sun
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
So as one survive
Another day and season
Silence, legion, save your poison
Silence, legion, stay out of my way
Here from the wild dream come true
Feast like a sultan, I do
On treasures and flesh never few
But I, I would wish it all away
If I thought I'd lose you just one day
The devil and his had me down
In love with the dark side I'd found
Dabblin' all the way down
Up to my neck, soon to drown
But you changed that all for me
Lifted me up, turned me round
So I
I
I
I
I would
I would
I would
Wish this all away
Prayed like a martyr dusk to dawn
Begged like a hooker all night long
Tempted the devil with my song
And got what I wanted all along
But I
And I would
If I could
And I would
Wish it away
Wish it away
Wish it all away
Wanna wish it all away
No prize that could hold sway
Or justify my giving away my center
So if I could I'd wish it all away
If I thought tomorrow would take you away
You, my peace of mind, my all, my center
Just trying to hold on one more day
Damn my eyes!
Damn my eyes!
Damn my eyes if they should compromise the fulcrum
Wants and needs divide me then I might as well be gone
Shine on forever
Shine on benevolent sun
Shine down upon the broken
Shine until the two become one
Shine on forever
Shine on benevolent sun
Shine down upon the severed
Shine until the two become one
Divided, I'll wither away
Divided, I'll wither away
Shine down upon the many
Light our way, benevolent sun
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
Breathe in union
So as one survive
Another day and season
Silence, legion, save your poison
Silence, legion, stay out of my way
Lyrics submitted by WORlock, edited by ab_tremonti, Kyralik, jtmyatt, sepultura1987, EonBlueSky
Jambi Lyrics as written by Daniel Carey Adam Jones
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
@MakeSense I love your description here, and agree with almost all of it...I think he's referring to his center and the light that shines on the broken here as Christ, however. The word Legion is what gives it away at the very end. Legion is a biblical description of demon possession when someone is possessed by many demons. Christ is the only one who sets people free from Legion, and Christ is referred to as the the Light of the World (physically represented as the sun). He's the Center of all things, everything revolves around Christ. In the biblical story of creation, God says, "Let there be light," and there was light.... That was the FIRST day. Then, on the FOURTH day, God created the sun to govern the day and the moon to govern the night. Symbolism here is that, to the Lord, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. In chronology, Christ is created on the first day, but He does not come to earth until the fourth day, 4000 years after the creation. He is the human tangible representative of God on earth. The spiritual light that we can actually comprehend. He came to set us free from the darkness, the evil, the legion. Christ is the center here, and Maynard really gets that across beautifully here.