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.
The secret side of me
I never let you see
I keep it caged, but I can't control it
So stay away from me
The beast is ugly
I feel the rage, and I just can't hold it
It's scratching on the walls
In the closet, in the halls
It comes awake, and I can't control it
Hiding under the bed
In my body, in my head
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
My secret side I keep
Hid under lock and key
I keep it caged, but I can't control it
'Cause if I let him out
He'll tear me up, break me down
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
It's hiding in the dark
It's teeth are razor sharp
There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart
No one can hear me scream
Maybe it's just a dream
Maybe it's inside of me
Stop this monster
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I'm gonna lose control
It's something radical
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I never let you see
I keep it caged, but I can't control it
So stay away from me
The beast is ugly
I feel the rage, and I just can't hold it
It's scratching on the walls
In the closet, in the halls
It comes awake, and I can't control it
Hiding under the bed
In my body, in my head
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
My secret side I keep
Hid under lock and key
I keep it caged, but I can't control it
'Cause if I let him out
He'll tear me up, break me down
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
It's hiding in the dark
It's teeth are razor sharp
There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart
No one can hear me scream
Maybe it's just a dream
Maybe it's inside of me
Stop this monster
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I'm gonna lose control
It's something radical
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
Lyrics submitted by ComeBackCat
Monster Lyrics as written by John Landrum Cooper Gavin Brown
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It may be a Christian band, but I think they are expressing a universal problem of the human condition, experienced by Christians and nonbelievers alike - a problem even addressed in the Bible a few thousand years ago. To me, one point to the song is that a Christian is not immune to these issues. Sometimes it just sucks to be human! In this particular song, it doesn't look like the singer is proposing a solution, just presenting the problem. Sometimes, misery loves company; they call it "empathy".
As a Christian, I enjoy a band that addresses universal problems and acknowledges spirituality, mortality and the existence of truth consistent with the Gospel without pounding me (or nonbelievers) over the head with evangelism. After all, if Skillet applied the message with a sledgehammer, this conversation would not be happening.