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.
This self-made mogul alpha-male
Now seeks a Dali-lama
To become a cocooned darling larva
I’ll donate my album sales
to what the left-wing stance is,
their pet peeves are the candidates
and wet reeds in their tan lips,
exceeds bandwidth
This self-empowered blog stirs in all you apathetic scenesters
From this downward-dogger
Newly flowered songbird
But I used to drive my stretched Humvee
through rap fads like an occupied Baghdad
Looking like a pet monkey
in a one-piece holding a handbag
Now I’m stylized in your art commune
Torturing a TV host,
holding a wienie-roast over car-bombed ruins
Choking on a tapioca ball
In being a sun-drenched life-size Yoda doll
Obsequious banter is protocol (new skin)
Admonished, I withstand the office day singed
Then become counter-culture’s misanthropic statesman
Take wives with a chest full of animal hair,
put their vulvas on pre-heat
Then have an extra-marital affair at the yoga retreat
I’m a wheatgrass fueled, rehashed, eco-friendly hippie freak
Encased in what’s aesthetically pleasing
Marvel at the LA-based, dead artifice
We are all coated in a plastic film
But there lies a thicker layer of secret skin
There lies a layer of secret skin
Under your soft-edit enhanced cosmetic implants
There lies a thick layer of secret skin
A body for you to re-begin
’Please give to this undisclosed relieve fund’
Says the liberal with a tealeaf on his tongue
Cuz soldiers are pointing their BB guns at children’s TB lungs
So we’ve sanctioned graffiti fun to slander your figurehead
Hack into amalgamated algorithms that open cells crowded prisons
But I got to get that ‘save-the-world-look’ first
Under that thin veneer, there is a buried sun
An aptly engineered, new planetarium
Working class
Heroism
Is stylish
All season
Sleeveless shirts
Quinoa
Drum circles
Palm-reading
We are all coated in a plastic film
But there lies a thicker layer of secret skin
There lies a layer of secret skin
Under your soft-edit enhanced cosmetic implants
There lies a thick layer of secret skin
A body for you to re-began
We are all coated in a plastic film
But there lies a thicker layer of secret skin
There lies a layer of secret skin
Under your soft-edit enhanced cosmetic implants
There lies a thick layer of secret skin
A body for you to re-began
Under that thin veneer, there is a buried sun
An aptly engineered, new planetarium
Now seeks a Dali-lama
To become a cocooned darling larva
I’ll donate my album sales
to what the left-wing stance is,
their pet peeves are the candidates
and wet reeds in their tan lips,
exceeds bandwidth
This self-empowered blog stirs in all you apathetic scenesters
From this downward-dogger
Newly flowered songbird
But I used to drive my stretched Humvee
through rap fads like an occupied Baghdad
Looking like a pet monkey
in a one-piece holding a handbag
Now I’m stylized in your art commune
Torturing a TV host,
holding a wienie-roast over car-bombed ruins
Choking on a tapioca ball
In being a sun-drenched life-size Yoda doll
Obsequious banter is protocol (new skin)
Admonished, I withstand the office day singed
Then become counter-culture’s misanthropic statesman
Take wives with a chest full of animal hair,
put their vulvas on pre-heat
Then have an extra-marital affair at the yoga retreat
I’m a wheatgrass fueled, rehashed, eco-friendly hippie freak
Encased in what’s aesthetically pleasing
Marvel at the LA-based, dead artifice
We are all coated in a plastic film
But there lies a thicker layer of secret skin
There lies a layer of secret skin
Under your soft-edit enhanced cosmetic implants
There lies a thick layer of secret skin
A body for you to re-begin
’Please give to this undisclosed relieve fund’
Says the liberal with a tealeaf on his tongue
Cuz soldiers are pointing their BB guns at children’s TB lungs
So we’ve sanctioned graffiti fun to slander your figurehead
Hack into amalgamated algorithms that open cells crowded prisons
But I got to get that ‘save-the-world-look’ first
Under that thin veneer, there is a buried sun
An aptly engineered, new planetarium
Working class
Heroism
Is stylish
All season
Sleeveless shirts
Quinoa
Drum circles
Palm-reading
We are all coated in a plastic film
But there lies a thicker layer of secret skin
There lies a layer of secret skin
Under your soft-edit enhanced cosmetic implants
There lies a thick layer of secret skin
A body for you to re-began
We are all coated in a plastic film
But there lies a thicker layer of secret skin
There lies a layer of secret skin
Under your soft-edit enhanced cosmetic implants
There lies a thick layer of secret skin
A body for you to re-began
Under that thin veneer, there is a buried sun
An aptly engineered, new planetarium
Lyrics submitted by egg
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.