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.
Hands on the radio.
We left too soon.
We left you in the afternoon.
I hurt somebody.
I love you too.
I love you underneath the moon.
I love you underneath the moon.
This town is my favorite and I promise I'll come back.
Girls, I promise you.
Boys, I promise you too.
With hands on the radio, we'll get there soon.
We'll get there in the afternoon.
Fans in the stadium, they leave too soon.
They always leave in the afternoon.
They always leave in the afternoon.
This town is my favorite and I promise I'll come back.
Girls, I promise you.
Boys, I promise you too.
This town is my favorite and I promise I'll come back.
Girls, I promise you and boys, I promise you too.
We left too soon.
We left you in the afternoon.
I hurt somebody.
I love you too.
I love you underneath the moon.
I love you underneath the moon.
This town is my favorite and I promise I'll come back.
Girls, I promise you.
Boys, I promise you too.
With hands on the radio, we'll get there soon.
We'll get there in the afternoon.
Fans in the stadium, they leave too soon.
They always leave in the afternoon.
They always leave in the afternoon.
This town is my favorite and I promise I'll come back.
Girls, I promise you.
Boys, I promise you too.
This town is my favorite and I promise I'll come back.
Girls, I promise you and boys, I promise you too.
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I think this song is about something that happens during a performance tour. He's promising the "boys and girls" that he will "come back" because "this town in [his] favourite." His performance is a form of love ("I loved you underneath the moon") but he must continue on to another town and must leave "in the afternoon" even though he knows it's "too soon." The title of the song suggests that "the radio" (the popularity of his music?) is a kind of vehicle for moving from town to town: "With hands on the radio, we'll get there soon..." I love all of Garneau's songs and this one is a favourite. I'm sure that when he performs this, each "town" thinks he's singing to them. It would be a great song to sing at the end of a performance.