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.
The end
The songwriter?s dead
The blade fell upon him
Taking him to the white lands
Of Empathica,
Of Innocence
Empathica
Innocence
The dreamer and the wine
Poet without a rhyme
A widowed writer, torn apart by chains of Hell
One last perfect verse
Yet still the same old song
Oh Christ, how I hate what I have become
Take me home
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray, to dreamer?s hideaway
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, the whore for the cold world
Forgive me, I have but two faces
One for the world,
One for God save me
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world
My home was there and then
These meadows of heaven
Adventure-filled days
One with every smiling face
Please, no more words
Thoughts from a severed head
No more praise
Tell me once my heart goes right
Take me home
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray, to dreamer?s hideaway
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, the whore for the cold world
Forgive me, I have but two faces
One for the world,
One for God save me
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world
Whore for the cold world
Whore for the cold world
Sparkle my scenery
With turquoise waterfall
With beauty underneath
The Ever Free
Tuck me in
Beneath the blue
Beneath the pain
Beneath the rain
Goodnight kiss for a child in time
Swaying blade my lullaby
On the shore we sat and hoped
Under the same pale moon
Whose guiding light chose you
Chose you all
I?m afraid, so afraid, of being raped
Again and again and again
I know I will die alone, but loved
You live long enough to hear the sound of guns
Long enough to find yourself screaming every night
And if you want
Live long enough to see your friends betray you
Years have I been strapped unto this altar
Now I only have three minutes and counting
I just wish the tide would catch me first
And give me a death
I always longed for
Second robber to the right of Christ
Cut in half - infacticide
The world will rejoice today
As the crows feast on the rotting poet
Everyone must bury their own
No pack to bury the heart of stone
Now he's home in Hell, serves him well
Slain by the bell, tolling for his farewell
The morning dawned upon this altar
Remains of the dark passion play
Performed by his friends without shame
Spitting on his grave as they came
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray, to dreamer?s hideaway
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, the whore for the cold world
Forgive me, I have but two faces
One for the world,
One for God save me
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world
A whore for the cold world
A whore for the cold world
Today, in the year of our Lord, 2005
Thomas was called from the cares of the world
He stopped crying at the end of each beautiful day
The music he wrote had too long been without silence
He was found naked and dead
With a smile in his face, a pen and 1000 pages of erased text
Save me!
Be still, my son
You're home
Oh when did you become so cold?
The blade will keep on descending
All you need is to feel my love
Search for beauty, find your shore
Try to save them all, bleed no more
You have such ocean's within
In the end
I will always love you
The beginning
The songwriter?s dead
The blade fell upon him
Taking him to the white lands
Of Empathica,
Of Innocence
Empathica
Innocence
The dreamer and the wine
Poet without a rhyme
A widowed writer, torn apart by chains of Hell
One last perfect verse
Yet still the same old song
Oh Christ, how I hate what I have become
Take me home
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray, to dreamer?s hideaway
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, the whore for the cold world
Forgive me, I have but two faces
One for the world,
One for God save me
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world
My home was there and then
These meadows of heaven
Adventure-filled days
One with every smiling face
Please, no more words
Thoughts from a severed head
No more praise
Tell me once my heart goes right
Take me home
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray, to dreamer?s hideaway
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, the whore for the cold world
Forgive me, I have but two faces
One for the world,
One for God save me
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world
Whore for the cold world
Whore for the cold world
Sparkle my scenery
With turquoise waterfall
With beauty underneath
The Ever Free
Tuck me in
Beneath the blue
Beneath the pain
Beneath the rain
Goodnight kiss for a child in time
Swaying blade my lullaby
On the shore we sat and hoped
Under the same pale moon
Whose guiding light chose you
Chose you all
I?m afraid, so afraid, of being raped
Again and again and again
I know I will die alone, but loved
You live long enough to hear the sound of guns
Long enough to find yourself screaming every night
And if you want
Live long enough to see your friends betray you
Years have I been strapped unto this altar
Now I only have three minutes and counting
I just wish the tide would catch me first
And give me a death
I always longed for
Second robber to the right of Christ
Cut in half - infacticide
The world will rejoice today
As the crows feast on the rotting poet
Everyone must bury their own
No pack to bury the heart of stone
Now he's home in Hell, serves him well
Slain by the bell, tolling for his farewell
The morning dawned upon this altar
Remains of the dark passion play
Performed by his friends without shame
Spitting on his grave as they came
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray, to dreamer?s hideaway
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, the whore for the cold world
Forgive me, I have but two faces
One for the world,
One for God save me
I cannot cry ?cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world
A whore for the cold world
A whore for the cold world
Today, in the year of our Lord, 2005
Thomas was called from the cares of the world
He stopped crying at the end of each beautiful day
The music he wrote had too long been without silence
He was found naked and dead
With a smile in his face, a pen and 1000 pages of erased text
Save me!
Be still, my son
You're home
Oh when did you become so cold?
The blade will keep on descending
All you need is to feel my love
Search for beauty, find your shore
Try to save them all, bleed no more
You have such ocean's within
In the end
I will always love you
The beginning
Lyrics submitted by The_howling, edited by Sapherd
The Poet and the Pendulum Lyrics as written by Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The only thing in this song I still don't get is the part about the shoulder crying.
'I cannot cry cause the shoulder crys more' - the shoulder refers to the person he wants to open up to (the shoulder to cry on) but he feels he can't because they have their own, or bigger problems than he does.
The part "The shoulder cries more" means, I believe, that the shoulder you have cried against before now has worries of its own. You can no longer rely upon it to console you. Of course, tis just a humble opinion of this Finnish Nightwish fan...<br /> And the "Year of our Lord" I think is just a saying. No references to the birth of Christ, I guess every year is a year of Lord for Christians. (I'm no longer Christian. I'm nothing at the moment. XD)
Oh damn, someone had already replied on the shoulder. Only noticed now. Bugger... XD
Hi x Do you think maybe, that Anette is the shoulder he wants to cry on, but because she has been having all these panic attacks and hate for replacing Tarja, he has to look after her?