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.
Against the wall, they see you
No where to run, nowhere to hide
Hero in mask, the cracks are showing
A faceless god to shade to perfect light
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Savior or fool, the mystery
Fades into the cruel shade night
The broken disguise, can not comprehend
What was and will be
Until the very end
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Yeah!
Oh, when the north wind steep
That is when we'll meet again
Oh, when the shadows keep
In the twilight I'll descend
Good and evil
Never ends
Your just a means to an end!
Against the wall, they see you
No where to run, nowhere to hide
Hero in mask, the cracks are showing
A faceless god to shade to perfect light
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Savior or fool, the mystery
Fades into the cruel shade night
The broken disguise, can not comprehend
What was and will be
Until the very end
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Against the wall, they see you
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
Hero in mask, the cracks are showing
A faceless god to shade to perfect light
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Savior or fool, the mystery
Fades into the cruel shade night
The broken disguise, can not comprehend
What was and will be
Until the very end
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
No where to run, nowhere to hide
Hero in mask, the cracks are showing
A faceless god to shade to perfect light
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Savior or fool, the mystery
Fades into the cruel shade night
The broken disguise, can not comprehend
What was and will be
Until the very end
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Yeah!
Oh, when the north wind steep
That is when we'll meet again
Oh, when the shadows keep
In the twilight I'll descend
Good and evil
Never ends
Your just a means to an end!
Against the wall, they see you
No where to run, nowhere to hide
Hero in mask, the cracks are showing
A faceless god to shade to perfect light
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Savior or fool, the mystery
Fades into the cruel shade night
The broken disguise, can not comprehend
What was and will be
Until the very end
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Against the wall, they see you
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
Hero in mask, the cracks are showing
A faceless god to shade to perfect light
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
Savior or fool, the mystery
Fades into the cruel shade night
The broken disguise, can not comprehend
What was and will be
Until the very end
Wounds of hate that pierce so deep
They never die
Oh, my revenge is bitter sweet
Lost in the night
Wandering alone
Try as I might to escape the fight
It never lets me go
Oh no, oh no, I've got to find a way
A way, a way, a way to rise above it all
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I think it's a little bit funny that the Latin is wrong. I think Romeo must have put "Divine", "Wings", "of", and "Tragedy" one at a time into an online translator or something. Same with Oculus ex Inferni probably. Besides that, totally amazing album.