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.
On the outside I'm in the high rise
Headin' for a meeting, shining up my greeting
See me in a white suit with a mirror tie
And you you-you-you
Elevate me
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
And on the inside, I'm on my knees
Crawling an aching mile, living on the Bowery
Too sick to stand, to try to understand
But you you-you-you
Elevate me
You lift me high, just high enough to see
You you-you-you
Elevate me
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
And no one suspects a thing
They're all hiding just the same
They ache for an outbound train
And the wheels stopped turning in their brains
And you you-you-you
Elevate me
You lift me high, just high enough to see
You you-you-you
Elevate me
You throw off the shame
And you
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
You elevate me
You elevate me
C'mon baby, dance on stilts, dance on stilts with me
You elevate me
You elevate me
Headin' for a meeting, shining up my greeting
See me in a white suit with a mirror tie
And you you-you-you
Elevate me
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
And on the inside, I'm on my knees
Crawling an aching mile, living on the Bowery
Too sick to stand, to try to understand
But you you-you-you
Elevate me
You lift me high, just high enough to see
You you-you-you
Elevate me
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
And no one suspects a thing
They're all hiding just the same
They ache for an outbound train
And the wheels stopped turning in their brains
And you you-you-you
Elevate me
You lift me high, just high enough to see
You you-you-you
Elevate me
You throw off the shame
And you
You throw off the shame
And you dance on stilts with me
You elevate me
You elevate me
C'mon baby, dance on stilts, dance on stilts with me
You elevate me
You elevate me
Lyrics submitted by fractured_sanity
Dance on Stilts Lyrics as written by Louis James Allen D. Jourgensen
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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