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.
I thought I saw you in the Battleship
But it was only a look alike
She was nothing but a vision trick
Under the warning light
She was close
Close enough to be your ghost
But my chances turned to toast
When I asked her if I could call her your name
I thought I saw you in the Rusty Hook
Huddled up in wicker chair
I wandered up for a closer look
And kissed whoever was sitting there
She was close
And she held me very tightly
'Til I asked awfully politely
"Please, can I call you her name?"
And I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I thought I saw you in the Parrot's Beak
Messin' with the smoke alarm
It was too loud for me to hear her speak
And she had a broken arm
It was close
So close that the walls were wet
And she wrote it out in Letraset
"No, you can't call me her name"
Tell me, where's your hiding place?
I'm worried I'll forget your face
And I've asked everyone
I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along
I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I saw your sister in the Cornerstone
On the phone to the middle man
When I saw that she was on her own
I thought she might understand
That she was close
Well, you couldn't get much closer
She said, "I'm really not supposed to, but yes
You can call me anything you want"
But it was only a look alike
She was nothing but a vision trick
Under the warning light
She was close
Close enough to be your ghost
But my chances turned to toast
When I asked her if I could call her your name
I thought I saw you in the Rusty Hook
Huddled up in wicker chair
I wandered up for a closer look
And kissed whoever was sitting there
She was close
And she held me very tightly
'Til I asked awfully politely
"Please, can I call you her name?"
And I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I thought I saw you in the Parrot's Beak
Messin' with the smoke alarm
It was too loud for me to hear her speak
And she had a broken arm
It was close
So close that the walls were wet
And she wrote it out in Letraset
"No, you can't call me her name"
Tell me, where's your hiding place?
I'm worried I'll forget your face
And I've asked everyone
I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along
I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I saw your sister in the Cornerstone
On the phone to the middle man
When I saw that she was on her own
I thought she might understand
That she was close
Well, you couldn't get much closer
She said, "I'm really not supposed to, but yes
You can call me anything you want"
Lyrics submitted by life_aint_chess
Cornerstone Lyrics as written by Alex Turner
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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does he literally mean that the girl is messing with the smoke alarm? Or is there a deeper meaning?