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.
She's got houseplants,
To keep her company.
I bought her a goldfish
She named it after me.
We look at old photographs,
Of lovers come and gone
Ask her if it makes her sad
She says "son you've got so much to learn."
Juliette
The love of life that you have kept
Juliette
Smiling on her dying bed
Juliette
Got a grace about you yet.
Juliette
Smoking her last cigarette
Three is teatime,
She puts on patsy cline
Cuts the crusts of sandwiches
Mentions how she don't mind dyin'
Tells stories about pearl and earl
Best friends that she once had
We do the dishes,
Then she says its time for bed
Juliette
The love of life that you have kept
Juliette
Smiling on her dying bed
Juliette
Got a grace about you yet.
Juliette
Smoking her last cigarette
We ate ice cream
Last night before she slept
No plans for breakfast
Except to read the note she left
Gray and white skies
That day was a blur for me
She made me promise not to cry
So here's a drink I drink to thee.
Juliette
The love of life that you have kept
Juliette
Smiling on her dying bed
Juliette
Got a grace about you yet.
Juliette
Smoking her last cigarette
Juliette
Juliette
To keep her company.
I bought her a goldfish
She named it after me.
We look at old photographs,
Of lovers come and gone
Ask her if it makes her sad
She says "son you've got so much to learn."
Juliette
The love of life that you have kept
Juliette
Smiling on her dying bed
Juliette
Got a grace about you yet.
Juliette
Smoking her last cigarette
Three is teatime,
She puts on patsy cline
Cuts the crusts of sandwiches
Mentions how she don't mind dyin'
Tells stories about pearl and earl
Best friends that she once had
We do the dishes,
Then she says its time for bed
Juliette
The love of life that you have kept
Juliette
Smiling on her dying bed
Juliette
Got a grace about you yet.
Juliette
Smoking her last cigarette
We ate ice cream
Last night before she slept
No plans for breakfast
Except to read the note she left
Gray and white skies
That day was a blur for me
She made me promise not to cry
So here's a drink I drink to thee.
Juliette
The love of life that you have kept
Juliette
Smiling on her dying bed
Juliette
Got a grace about you yet.
Juliette
Smoking her last cigarette
Juliette
Juliette
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I think that the story arc is, if taken literally, a person who frequently visits an elderly friend or possibly family member. The use of the first name suggests that it isn't family, although it could just be because it sounds better than 'grandma' or 'aunt Juliette'. In any case, they talk and share stories and enjoy each other's company but she has some sort of terminal illness or is simply ready to pass on and she eventually commits suicide, hence the note. The fact she fell 'asleep' suggests she poisoned herself in some way.