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.
An apple and a berry plant
Comes with a house
On the grass, who is that
To come by my house
Stands outside my window
Sucking on the berries
And eats us out of house and home
Keeping us awake, keeping us awake
Can I come over, I need to rest
Lay down for a while
Disconnect the night was so long
The day even longer
Lay down for a while recollect
Five a.m. out again
Triangle walks
Magpies, I throw sticks at them
They laugh behind my back
Getting a feeling
Maybe I will dream again
Having that feeling
When there's no one awake
No no one awake
Can I come over, I need to rest
Lay down for a while
Disconnect the night was so long
The day even longer
Lay down for a while recollect
Comes with a house
On the grass, who is that
To come by my house
Stands outside my window
Sucking on the berries
And eats us out of house and home
Keeping us awake, keeping us awake
Can I come over, I need to rest
Lay down for a while
Disconnect the night was so long
The day even longer
Lay down for a while recollect
Five a.m. out again
Triangle walks
Magpies, I throw sticks at them
They laugh behind my back
Getting a feeling
Maybe I will dream again
Having that feeling
When there's no one awake
No no one awake
Can I come over, I need to rest
Lay down for a while
Disconnect the night was so long
The day even longer
Lay down for a while recollect
Lyrics submitted by MaritheGreat
Triangle Walks Lyrics as written by Karin Dreijer Andersson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Volcom7689 is right. It's about her self-reflexive irony towards a magpie sitting outside the window and eating berries. She laughs at herself for entertaining the idea that a bird could symbolise death, and for thinking she needed to shoo it away by throwing sticks at her. This album was made in her "post-natal mood", where a woman is, naturally, almost entirely focused on looking after her baby; it's a little laugh at herself for being over-protective.
oh, and of course the difficulty sleeping / insomnia that many women experience after childbirth (especially because baby needs feeding, etc), so the fatigue is making her think dark thoughts about a magpie, which she in turn laughs at herself for.