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.
So we all
Are growing old
And it's getting old
Pressure on
Our hollow bones
And the (varicose)
Suddenly
We decompose
But we're not alone
So we all
Are growing old
Maybe we're sealed in silence
And maybe we feel a guidance
Maybe your own devices
Will keep you afraid and cold
But I
Memorized
Your smile lines
From left to right
(Candlelight)
And childlike
Reaction time
We're allowed
To expire
?
So we all
Are growing old
Pull out the fear of silence
And put out the need for guidance
And put out your own devices
And don't be afraid of the cold
And we sing, sing, sing.
Fight, we fight, fight.
We cry, cry, cry.
We slide, slide, we slide into the light.
We sing, fight, we cry.
We slide, slide, we slide into the light.
Maybe we're sealed in silence
And maybe we feel a guidance
Maybe your own devices
Will keep you afraid and cold, well.
Pull out the fear of silence
Put out the need for guidance
Put out your own devices
And don't be afraid of the cold
Afraid of the cold
Afraid of the time
You've got no where to go but here.
Are growing old
And it's getting old
Pressure on
Our hollow bones
And the (varicose)
Suddenly
We decompose
But we're not alone
So we all
Are growing old
Maybe we're sealed in silence
And maybe we feel a guidance
Maybe your own devices
Will keep you afraid and cold
But I
Memorized
Your smile lines
From left to right
(Candlelight)
And childlike
Reaction time
We're allowed
To expire
?
So we all
Are growing old
Pull out the fear of silence
And put out the need for guidance
And put out your own devices
And don't be afraid of the cold
And we sing, sing, sing.
Fight, we fight, fight.
We cry, cry, cry.
We slide, slide, we slide into the light.
We sing, fight, we cry.
We slide, slide, we slide into the light.
Maybe we're sealed in silence
And maybe we feel a guidance
Maybe your own devices
Will keep you afraid and cold, well.
Pull out the fear of silence
Put out the need for guidance
Put out your own devices
And don't be afraid of the cold
Afraid of the cold
Afraid of the time
You've got no where to go but here.
Lyrics submitted by skullflower
Growing Old Is Getting Old Lyrics as written by Christopher Andrew Guanlao Brian Nolan Kalei Aubert
Lyrics © Word Collections Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
re: the lyrics : I'm pretty sure it is "Pressure on Our hollow bones and the varicose"
but could be wrong. It just sounds very similar plus varicose is a word used for veins typically in OLD people, veins that have gotten knotty and I'm sure you remember as a kid seeing the veins in your grandma's legs... those were varicose ;)
My interpretation of this song is again based off what a good shoegaze/dreampop song does to you: makes you feel like you're asleep then you wake up. it is also important to me to note that psychologists suggest something called a collective unconscious and that would be basically what we all dream about and this band is definately trying to tap into that vein (heheh, a varicose vein!) by using a theme like "getting old".
the lyrics are telling us to stay young although we are growing old!
im thinking its varicose as well for the same reasons as Dev...though it sounds more like varencose when he says it which, unfortunately is not a word.<br /> <br /> seems to be about not being afraid of death, that people feel a "guidance" to do something with this life for another one, and that their "devices" make them do this as well. i suppose there could a bit of an anti-religon piece in there. he rejects their "guidance" and "devices" and loses his fear of the cold, and "theres no where to go but here" seems to be a pretty obvious reference to there not being an afterlife.<br /> <br /> also, i think there is a "we" before each cry and fight and sing and slide. its just not as pronounced as the ones that are already written in.