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.
Last call for regret and defeat
To finish the bottle full of empty dreams
Punch drunk head is straight out of line
Another excuse with no alibi
Hitchin' on the road of decline
With no-name streets and no vital signs
I pissed away the best of me, and
No one can help me!
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
My hands are tied and nailed to the cross
I'm looking for all the composure I lost
I'm petulant with a bad attitude
A poster-child vision of wasted youth
I dodged the book and found the key
I can't say the same for dignity
I pissed away the best of me, and
No one can help me!
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
My own enemy
I don't hear you now
Perfect tragedy
God bless us denial
My own enemy
I don't hear you now
Perfect tragedy
God bless us denial
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
To finish the bottle full of empty dreams
Punch drunk head is straight out of line
Another excuse with no alibi
Hitchin' on the road of decline
With no-name streets and no vital signs
I pissed away the best of me, and
No one can help me!
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
My hands are tied and nailed to the cross
I'm looking for all the composure I lost
I'm petulant with a bad attitude
A poster-child vision of wasted youth
I dodged the book and found the key
I can't say the same for dignity
I pissed away the best of me, and
No one can help me!
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
My own enemy
I don't hear you now
Perfect tragedy
God bless us denial
My own enemy
I don't hear you now
Perfect tragedy
God bless us denial
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
Misery's best friend can't be a dead-end
A bag full of regrets, and I'm coming clean
Some feel it, especially the rejects
A bad habit; don't forget it: you better
Count your last blessings and fill up the wagon
Chases its feet
And now I'm running out of time
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One sentence...This song makes me feel alive :)