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.
How many times
Can I push it aside
Is it time I befriended all the ghosts of all the things that haunt me most
So they leave me alone
Move on with my life
Be certain the steps of left and right don't fight the direction of upright
I'd rather forget and not slow down
Than gather regret for the things I can't change now
If I become what I can't accept
Resurrect the saint from within the wretch
Pour over me and wash my hands of it
It's time to decide
Which is out of my mind
Cause it'll be me unless I put some thoughts to rest and leave some faults behind
I'll watch the glint in my eye
Shine off the spring in my step
And could be blinding depending on the amount of you that I reflect
Cause I could spend my life just trying to sift through
What I could've done better but what good do what ifs do
Oh oh
Oh oh
There's something I should tell you now
I Don't Need A Soul
I listen to the sirens as they sing me back to sleep
I pray that no one's seriously hurt
It feels like everything is dying at the pivot point of me
I listen to the sirens tell me things could still be worse
'Cause if you close your eyes and listen close
You can hear the chapter close
And its all rebound in better clothes
And you like the way this story goes
'Cause the sun still burns the shadows out
And there's nothing to complain about now
'Cause if this was our destiny I'd treasure the fact
And I'd give you whats left of me if I'd held back
But I don't need a soul
No I don't need a soul to hold
Without you I'm still whole
You and life remain beautiful
Departing from the hospital
Ill news shows on your face too well
You're trying not to cough at all it hurts
All options are exhausted all your numbered days are numbered small
I miss you now
I loved you
And I know things could still be worse
Can I push it aside
Is it time I befriended all the ghosts of all the things that haunt me most
So they leave me alone
Move on with my life
Be certain the steps of left and right don't fight the direction of upright
I'd rather forget and not slow down
Than gather regret for the things I can't change now
If I become what I can't accept
Resurrect the saint from within the wretch
Pour over me and wash my hands of it
It's time to decide
Which is out of my mind
Cause it'll be me unless I put some thoughts to rest and leave some faults behind
I'll watch the glint in my eye
Shine off the spring in my step
And could be blinding depending on the amount of you that I reflect
Cause I could spend my life just trying to sift through
What I could've done better but what good do what ifs do
Oh oh
Oh oh
There's something I should tell you now
I Don't Need A Soul
I listen to the sirens as they sing me back to sleep
I pray that no one's seriously hurt
It feels like everything is dying at the pivot point of me
I listen to the sirens tell me things could still be worse
'Cause if you close your eyes and listen close
You can hear the chapter close
And its all rebound in better clothes
And you like the way this story goes
'Cause the sun still burns the shadows out
And there's nothing to complain about now
'Cause if this was our destiny I'd treasure the fact
And I'd give you whats left of me if I'd held back
But I don't need a soul
No I don't need a soul to hold
Without you I'm still whole
You and life remain beautiful
Departing from the hospital
Ill news shows on your face too well
You're trying not to cough at all it hurts
All options are exhausted all your numbered days are numbered small
I miss you now
I loved you
And I know things could still be worse
Lyrics submitted by rkfanatic101, edited by Skoobasteve24
Forget and Not Slow Down Lyrics as written by Matthew Thiessen
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Shannon lived in Atlanta when they broke up