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.
I am the speaker but what is responsibility?
This is beg of you, build me brick upon brick
High tides, waves of hypocrisy
I didn't think the clock struck more than twelve times
I decided to name her insomnia
"Her teeth (show) like white seeds in a scarlet fruit"
This I must tell you, old friend, fear beauty
This is meager, this is feeble
She was only a fiction and my creation
This is beg of you, build me brick upon brick
High tides, waves of hypocrisy
I didn't think the clock struck more than twelve times
I decided to name her insomnia
"Her teeth (show) like white seeds in a scarlet fruit"
This I must tell you, old friend, fear beauty
This is meager, this is feeble
She was only a fiction and my creation
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Don't look too far when trying to find meaning in The Devil Wears Prada songs. The simple reason being that as a band, they are required by contract to appeal to the broadest audience possible. This means that their lyrics are kept vague and have no clear "universal" meaning. The following is an obvious and literal analysis of the song as it is based on verified facts. It is the only type of acceptable song analysis as it is objective and does not assume intimate knowledge of the author's sentiment and intentions.
"I am the speaker but what is responsibility?" means: I say words but I ponder their effect on reality.
"This I beg of you, build me brick upon brick" means: I am nothing and need someone else to tell me who to be. Please note this is not Christian at all. If you read the bible you should not have any questions about how or who to be. The lessons in the bible are straight forward.
"High tides; waves of hypocrisy" means: It's out of context and has no obvious meaning. A dumb lyric.
"I didn't think the clock struck more than twelve times" means that it's late and the author is surprised. "Oh my! Did you look at the time?"
"I decided to name her insomnia" means: He is up late and is making a big deal of it.
"Her teeth (show) like white seeds in a scarlet fruit" means: The author read "The picture of Dorian Gray" and remembered to take the quote as a lyric. The "Scarlet fruit" is the color of the skin that is inside everyone's mouth. When you smile your gums are red (scarlet means red) and your teeth stick out of them like seeds (because teeth are white). This has no observable relation to Adam and Eve and anyone who claims it does should not drink water with fluoride in it!
"This I must tell you, old friend: fear beauty" means: This is a reference to "The picture of Dorian Gray" because in the book the protagonist chases beauty and is ultimately betrayed by it. It also means the author is idiotic. Dumb lyrics, not subtle at all.
"This is meager, this is feeble" means: Again a reference to "beauty" as it is written about by Oscar Wilde because it is fleeting and ephemeral. And that means that those who seek beauty always lose it. It is not a good thing to want to be beautiful. A person is beautiful in their hard work and values, not in their looks.
"She was only a fiction and my creation" means: The author is talking about beauty. He is saying beauty isn't real. We only perceive it as such.
In conclusion, I think it would be fair to say that the Theme of the song is "beauty" and "values" and makes allusions to and quotes the book "The picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. TO ALL OBTUSE CHRISTIANS OUT THERE, PLEASE WORK HARDER IN YOUR ANALYSES BECAUSE YOU'RE LEADING PEOPLE TO THINK THAT ALL TWDP SONGS HAVE A DIRECT RELATION TO CHRISTIANITY WHEN IT IS NOT THE CASE AT ALL. THEY VAGUELY REFERENCE PASSAGES IN THE BIBLE AT BEST.
wow......thats all i can say is wow...i cant believe you think that a band like The Devil Wears Prada would write literal lyrics and not have any underlying meanings or symbolism to them, and why would they add "a dumb lyric" that means nothing to the song? you are blatantly ignoring the fact that they are all very strong Christians and wouldnt write something that has no meaning or say something they didnt believe. They say that beauty is from Satan and Satan tempts us into sin, and what the ENTIRE band stands for is to "fear beauty" not cower and cringe, but to be wary of beauty; look at their name "the DEVIL wears PRADA." Prada is a very expensive clothing and shoe line, therefore vain people tend to buy Prada products, and are also considered beautiful, therefore seductive, and being seduced is being led into temptation which we must all resist and follow Christ in his perfect example. look at 1 Peter 3:3 "Do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear" just think about all the asinine things you have said and think about what God thinks of you, good day
thank you, this individual is like the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen. The Devil Wears Prada is pretty much my favorite band not only because they have great music but because their lyrics are so amazing it blows my mind. :)
Seriously criticalthinking???? Why are you telling people that they're wrong on how theyinterpret the song?? Are you that bored? Music isn't something you can some up in exactly four words. You can't judge msuic the same way you would judge food. YOU'RE COMPLETLY HOPELESS. And none of us really know what the song is really about, not unless we've heard interviews from the band themselves. And gr33l3y3stat3s I completly agree with you. TDWP has so much meaning and emotion in their music, all you can do is jam out with them. And sing horribly in your off key voice, in my case anyway. <br /> CRITICALTHINKING, you're way too confusing for your own good...that whole comment you wrote doesn't even make sense.