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.
Good news for beautiful people
Watching the world go by
Make love in the middle of a warzone
Hey, ya never gonna die
Don't rock the boat, keep your head down
Just another fool in the crowd
Everybody knows, you can be a winner
Cmon, shout it out loud
On the fat of the land I been living
Now it's only a matter of time
Sooner or later, you open your eyes
And return to the scene of the crime
Dig deep at the top of the heap
Now you've bitten off the hand that feeds you
You got nothin' but your soul to sell
You got nothin'
When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one last time
When the river runs dry
You got the power I got the money
Another million miles to run
I'd cry, cry for the future
But I wouldn't get anything done
Relax, abandon ship
Turn your back on Mother Nature
Blind luck, destiny, do me a favour
When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs.. dry
Good news for beautiful people
Watching the world go by
Make love in the middle of a war zone
All of God's children
Never gonna die
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs
I'm going home to where the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
It's only a matter of time
Only a matter of time
When the river runs dry
Watching the world go by
Make love in the middle of a warzone
Hey, ya never gonna die
Don't rock the boat, keep your head down
Just another fool in the crowd
Everybody knows, you can be a winner
Cmon, shout it out loud
On the fat of the land I been living
Now it's only a matter of time
Sooner or later, you open your eyes
And return to the scene of the crime
Dig deep at the top of the heap
Now you've bitten off the hand that feeds you
You got nothin' but your soul to sell
You got nothin'
When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one last time
When the river runs dry
You got the power I got the money
Another million miles to run
I'd cry, cry for the future
But I wouldn't get anything done
Relax, abandon ship
Turn your back on Mother Nature
Blind luck, destiny, do me a favour
When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs.. dry
Good news for beautiful people
Watching the world go by
Make love in the middle of a war zone
All of God's children
Never gonna die
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs dry
You will return to the scene of the crime
When the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
When the river runs
I'm going home to where the river runs dry
Salvation will rain on you one more time
It's only a matter of time
Only a matter of time
When the river runs dry
Lyrics submitted by crowdiegal
When the River Runs Dry Lyrics as written by Douglas James Falconer Barry John Joseph Palmer
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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No comments?
For shaaaaame.
This song is an incredible Australian classic.
"Make love in the middle of a warzone"