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.
You brought us the a-bomb
In so many ways endorsed by God and The Book
So God loves a war monger?
Hey Mr.Blix: forget Iraq and the time it took
'Cause I know just where to look
"could we have a vote please?"
They came with a song, America
They wouldn't stay long, America
We are America
God bless America
God bless America and Capitol Hill
'Cause no one else will
So now you are scared
The arabs will kill for their god
Like you do for yours?
Protect your obesity with your life man
Hey, Angry God or Diet Coke?
Who cares it's all a joke
"Heil homo pecuniae"
Saving us yet another time
Earning a buck on every dime
Sick of America
Sick of America
Sick of America and Capitol Hill
Moving in for the next kill
Did you say "I love you"?
A simpler democracy
Where every flaw and failure is called a "Right"
A new form of freedom
Based on your income, your color, creed
And your choice of gun
But it provides great fun
"Dr. Phil or Oprah?"
"Letterman or Leno?"
"Idol or Big Brother?"
[we'll be back after this short break]
It could have been good America
It could have been great America
Land of the brave and free
Welcoming you and me
But this Brave New World is not as new anymore
Each day a new store
Each year a new war
While chosen whites rule the poor
In America
Oh America
Don't you walk out on me
Just wait a second now
Please hear me out
Oh
I'll do my best to love you
Oh yes I will
I know you're out there
C'mon
Raise your voices
Don't let them ruin your reputation
Don't let them wreck your constitution
Not out of fear
Not out of greed
But you had a good run America
Your day in the sun America
Hello British Empire
Hello Roman Empire
Hello Soviet
There is a new kid in town
Joining the gone down
Finding what you found
Treading your worn, worn down ground
Rise to your former glory
Be brave and warm
Oh America
If I say I love you
If I say I love you
If I say I love you
Dare you love me too?
In so many ways endorsed by God and The Book
So God loves a war monger?
Hey Mr.Blix: forget Iraq and the time it took
'Cause I know just where to look
"could we have a vote please?"
They came with a song, America
They wouldn't stay long, America
We are America
God bless America
God bless America and Capitol Hill
'Cause no one else will
So now you are scared
The arabs will kill for their god
Like you do for yours?
Protect your obesity with your life man
Hey, Angry God or Diet Coke?
Who cares it's all a joke
"Heil homo pecuniae"
Saving us yet another time
Earning a buck on every dime
Sick of America
Sick of America
Sick of America and Capitol Hill
Moving in for the next kill
Did you say "I love you"?
A simpler democracy
Where every flaw and failure is called a "Right"
A new form of freedom
Based on your income, your color, creed
And your choice of gun
But it provides great fun
"Dr. Phil or Oprah?"
"Letterman or Leno?"
"Idol or Big Brother?"
[we'll be back after this short break]
It could have been good America
It could have been great America
Land of the brave and free
Welcoming you and me
But this Brave New World is not as new anymore
Each day a new store
Each year a new war
While chosen whites rule the poor
In America
Oh America
Don't you walk out on me
Just wait a second now
Please hear me out
Oh
I'll do my best to love you
Oh yes I will
I know you're out there
C'mon
Raise your voices
Don't let them ruin your reputation
Don't let them wreck your constitution
Not out of fear
Not out of greed
But you had a good run America
Your day in the sun America
Hello British Empire
Hello Roman Empire
Hello Soviet
There is a new kid in town
Joining the gone down
Finding what you found
Treading your worn, worn down ground
Rise to your former glory
Be brave and warm
Oh America
If I say I love you
If I say I love you
If I say I love you
Dare you love me too?
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lol the whole song is just throwing shit at America
Rated down. You just didn't take even one closer look... You just saw that he said something bad about America as it is now and automatically went do defense mode, disregarding the song's meaning entirely. This page is called SongMeanings.net, not TheFirstThingThatComesToMyMindAfterLookingThruTheLyricsForAFewSeconds.net.<br /> <br /> Look deeper. Daniel loves America. The America of old. The America of "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" The America of "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, [...] with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."<br /> <br /> He is begging you only to ask yourself one thing: Is modern America still "the land of the free and home of the brave"? Going deeper into that: Does the Star-spangled Banner, representing each state as a white star(clear of guilt for grievous wrong-doings), combined with the red stripes of valor and honor and the white stripes(once again bringing to mind purity and innocence), still wave over the policies of the federation of free countries that make up the United States? Does it still deserve the white stripes of innocence, or should they be turned "dollar" green, "oil" black, and "blood" red? And in the end... Do the American people really not care that their ideals, the thoughts that they've been taught to have since they were little kids, their most revered texts, such as The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and the first ten amendments to the Constitution known as The Bill of Rights are being raped by stupid, greedy, scared little shits(sorry for being vulgar, but nothing else gives the meaning I wish in such concise form) with nothing on their minds but "How to stuff as much cash in our wallets as possible, before somebody notices and kicks us out?"?<br /> <br /> The time is up. The people, some, like Daniel Gildenlow, from the outside, some, like Stephen Lynch for example, from inside the States, have opened their eyes and see how wrong things have become. They're trying to wake the others, those who don't see it yet, up.<br /> <br /> To finish this rant... I'll quote Benjamin Franklin and the most famous paraphrase that will make things easier for those who don't like to analyze things too deeply:<br /> <br /> "Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power" or in other words "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither and will lose them both."<br /> <br /> P.S.: "There never was a good war or a bad peace." but "[...}Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.[...]"