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.
I, I guess
The only thing cheap to you was your friends
You can always make new friends
(Oh well, oh well) But when you sell them out will they be worth as much?
I, I guess
The only thing cheap to you was your friends
You can always make new friends
(Oh well, oh well) But when you sell them out will they be worth as much?
Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
It might as well have never been built
And the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Looks like an ocean now
Times change and people change with them
Some people love to play the victim
Love to play the victim
You threw caution to the wind
Washed away these few last years for nothing
Was it all for nothing?
Keep it on wax
You're not the only one
Who's had to make sacrifices
We all had to make sacrifices
And time won't heal shit
When you've got your hands in my pockets
When you've got your hands
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream
It won't change a goddamn thing (It don't change)
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream (a goddamn thing)
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream
It won't change a goddamn thing (It don't change)
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream (a goddamn thing)
I, I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
Oh, what a fucking shame
Oh, that you had to mess things up this bad
Times change and people change with them
Some people love to play the victim
Love to play the victim
You threw caution to the wind
Washed away these few last years for nothing
Was it all for nothing?
It's gone
It's gone
There's nothing left
Keep it on wax
It's gone
It's gone
There's nothing left
Keep it on wax
The only thing cheap to you was your friends
You can always make new friends
(Oh well, oh well) But when you sell them out will they be worth as much?
I, I guess
The only thing cheap to you was your friends
You can always make new friends
(Oh well, oh well) But when you sell them out will they be worth as much?
Now this bridge is ashes
It might as well have never been built
It might as well have never been built
And the river that it crossed
Looks like an ocean now
Looks like an ocean now
Times change and people change with them
Some people love to play the victim
Love to play the victim
You threw caution to the wind
Washed away these few last years for nothing
Was it all for nothing?
Keep it on wax
You're not the only one
Who's had to make sacrifices
We all had to make sacrifices
And time won't heal shit
When you've got your hands in my pockets
When you've got your hands
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream
It won't change a goddamn thing (It don't change)
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream (a goddamn thing)
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream
It won't change a goddamn thing (It don't change)
Kick, Kick, Kick
Scream, Scream, Scream (a goddamn thing)
I, I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
I guess
The only thing cheap to you is your friends
Oh, what a fucking shame
Oh, that you had to mess things up this bad
Times change and people change with them
Some people love to play the victim
Love to play the victim
You threw caution to the wind
Washed away these few last years for nothing
Was it all for nothing?
It's gone
It's gone
There's nothing left
Keep it on wax
It's gone
It's gone
There's nothing left
Keep it on wax
Lyrics submitted by iamthenightstars, edited by xiksher
Keep It on Wax Lyrics as written by Wade Macneil Dallas Green
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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
Jesse with the long hair....
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
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.
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
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.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
i think this song is about taking your friends for granted and you can treat them like door mats because you know they'll either forgive you over time or they just wont get mad at you, and if they do you can just make new friends.