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.
Yeah, uh
In the name of Jesus, yes (spread the word)
No weapon formed against me shall prosper (preach)
And every tongue that rises against me at judgment, thou shalt condemn (preach)
Lord, give me a sign
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord (preach)
And their righteousness is of me, said the Lord (preach)
Amen, uh
Lord, give me a sign
I really need to talk to you, Lord
Since the last time we talked, the walk has been hard
Now I know you haven't left me
But I feel like I'm alone
I'm a big boy now, but I'm still not grown
And I'm still going through it (what)
Pain and the hurt (yeah)
Soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt (yeah)
And I know only I can stop the rain
With just the mention of my savior's name (uh, uh, uh)
In the name of Jesus
Devil, I rebuke you, for what I go through
And tryna make me do what I used to (what)
But all that stops right here (yeah)
As long as the Lords in my life, I will have no fear
I will know no pain from the light to the dark (uh, come on)
I will show no shame, spit it right from the heart (come on)
'Cause it's right from the start, you held me down
And ain't nothin' they can tell me now
Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
'Cause I'ma go through
Whatever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
Please show me somethin' (somethin')
I'm tired of talkin' to him knowin' he frontin' (frontin')
Cryin' 'bout life ain't nothin' (nothin')
But you either be the one mad 'cause you trapped, or the one huntin' (come on)
Trapped in your own mind waiting on the Lord (yeah)
Or hunting with the word that cuts like a sword
The spoken word is stronger than the strongest man (uh, uh, uh)
Carries the whole world like the strongest hand
Through the trials and tribulations, you never let us down
Jesus, I know you're here with us now
Jesus, I know you're still with us now
Keep it real with us now, I wanna feel, show me how (please)
Let me take your hand, guide me (what)
And walk slow but stay right beside me (please)
Devil's tryna find me (please)
Hide me, hold up, I take that back
Protect me and give me the strength to fight back
Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
'Cause I'ma go through
Whatever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
Life or death, live or die (uh)
I will never live a lie (uh)
I'm gon' get because I try (what)
I won't quit until I die (what)
I'm gon' make it wrong or right (yeah)
Make it through the darkest night (yeah)
When the morning comes you'll see
All I have is God in me (uh)
Lord, give me a sign (whoa)
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
Please
Lord, give me a sign
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
In the name of Jesus
Lord give me a sign
Let me know what's on your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
'Cause I'ma go through
Whatever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
In the name of Jesus, yes (spread the word)
No weapon formed against me shall prosper (preach)
And every tongue that rises against me at judgment, thou shalt condemn (preach)
Lord, give me a sign
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord (preach)
And their righteousness is of me, said the Lord (preach)
Amen, uh
Lord, give me a sign
I really need to talk to you, Lord
Since the last time we talked, the walk has been hard
Now I know you haven't left me
But I feel like I'm alone
I'm a big boy now, but I'm still not grown
And I'm still going through it (what)
Pain and the hurt (yeah)
Soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt (yeah)
And I know only I can stop the rain
With just the mention of my savior's name (uh, uh, uh)
In the name of Jesus
Devil, I rebuke you, for what I go through
And tryna make me do what I used to (what)
But all that stops right here (yeah)
As long as the Lords in my life, I will have no fear
I will know no pain from the light to the dark (uh, come on)
I will show no shame, spit it right from the heart (come on)
'Cause it's right from the start, you held me down
And ain't nothin' they can tell me now
Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
'Cause I'ma go through
Whatever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
Please show me somethin' (somethin')
I'm tired of talkin' to him knowin' he frontin' (frontin')
Cryin' 'bout life ain't nothin' (nothin')
But you either be the one mad 'cause you trapped, or the one huntin' (come on)
Trapped in your own mind waiting on the Lord (yeah)
Or hunting with the word that cuts like a sword
The spoken word is stronger than the strongest man (uh, uh, uh)
Carries the whole world like the strongest hand
Through the trials and tribulations, you never let us down
Jesus, I know you're here with us now
Jesus, I know you're still with us now
Keep it real with us now, I wanna feel, show me how (please)
Let me take your hand, guide me (what)
And walk slow but stay right beside me (please)
Devil's tryna find me (please)
Hide me, hold up, I take that back
Protect me and give me the strength to fight back
Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
'Cause I'ma go through
Whatever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
Life or death, live or die (uh)
I will never live a lie (uh)
I'm gon' get because I try (what)
I won't quit until I die (what)
I'm gon' make it wrong or right (yeah)
Make it through the darkest night (yeah)
When the morning comes you'll see
All I have is God in me (uh)
Lord, give me a sign (whoa)
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
Please
Lord, give me a sign
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
In the name of Jesus
Lord give me a sign
Let me know what's on your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
'Cause I'ma go through
Whatever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
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Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
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Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
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.
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
this is a great song, one of his best in my opinion, just needs to be longer.
its about him asking God to give him a sign on how to get closer with him and improve his life. this dude is also trying to convey that his life of crime is over now and hes with God. Whether its forreal this time, only God knows =/
I agree with g00dz. Very powerful song...sounds like X is tryna clear himself of his sins.
Amen Dmx
best SONG EVER!
DMX's best song.
In that category of the best rap songs ever made. This is one of the songs that go so far beyond what rap is normally about. DMX's best song as far as messages are concerned