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.
We used to get high together, instead of getting high alone.
I can't remember the last time I saw you.
I can't remember the last time we talked.
You left home for a fresh start,
Working as a waitress down in Bradenton.
With my name tattoo'd into your skin.
Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability
I am numbing myself completely.
Can you hear me right now?
I watched your mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't her words that shook me, it was the resemblance you shared.
Don't it feel so detached and unreal? Don't it seem so far away?
Like the past never happened, or like nothings ever changed.
With your casket open in front of me,
Your eyes closed and your lips silent.
With my name tattoo'd into your skin.
Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability
I am numbing myself completely.
Can you hear me right now?
I watched your mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't her words that shook me, it was the resemblance you shared.
I didn't listen to the preacher.
I couldn't look your husband in the eyes.
I'm not sure what I meant to you then,
So I'm not sure what I owe you now.
But if something I said hurt you
I swear it was not my intention.
With your name tattoo'd into my skin.
Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability
I am numbing myself completely.
Can you hear me right now?
I watched your mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't her words that shook me, it was the resemblance you shared.
I can't remember the last time I saw you.
I can't remember the last time we talked.
You left home for a fresh start,
Working as a waitress down in Bradenton.
With my name tattoo'd into your skin.
Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability
I am numbing myself completely.
Can you hear me right now?
I watched your mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't her words that shook me, it was the resemblance you shared.
Don't it feel so detached and unreal? Don't it seem so far away?
Like the past never happened, or like nothings ever changed.
With your casket open in front of me,
Your eyes closed and your lips silent.
With my name tattoo'd into your skin.
Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability
I am numbing myself completely.
Can you hear me right now?
I watched your mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't her words that shook me, it was the resemblance you shared.
I didn't listen to the preacher.
I couldn't look your husband in the eyes.
I'm not sure what I meant to you then,
So I'm not sure what I owe you now.
But if something I said hurt you
I swear it was not my intention.
With your name tattoo'd into my skin.
Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability
I am numbing myself completely.
Can you hear me right now?
I watched your mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes.
It wasn't her words that shook me, it was the resemblance you shared.
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A song about an old love who left to start a new life, had a new life and then died, and Tom goes to her funeral. I love the details he hits at the funeral & how Laura/Tom writes, she's fucking amazing <3