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.
Pretty girls don't just park where they want to
They gotta go 'round in circles like we all do
Just like a mother betrayed they're gonna find some day
Everything is not OK
I used to think
The whole world's gonna sink
And where will we be
Perhaps under a shrinking Earth
There's a better place for what it's worth.
Head low but you gotta Let It Sway
No miracle gonna happen when you feel that way
Bent up but you gotta let it sway
No firecracker in the dark gonna light your way
Blown out but you gotta let it sway
c'mon now c'mon c'mon
Pretty pretty, so continental
You slide into each other's arms unintentionally
Because you want and you say
Was you cool like me?
Think I gotta say no way, no way
I used to think
The whole world's gonna sink
And where will we be
Perhaps under a shrinking Earth
There's a better place for what it's worth.
Hell no but you gotta let it sway
No miracle gonna happen when you feel that way
Bent up but you gotta let it sway
No firecracker in the dark gonna light your way
Blown out but you gotta let it sway
Throw my candle in the fire and I'm on my way
Head low but you gotta let it sway
C'mon now, c'mon c'mon
They gotta go 'round in circles like we all do
Just like a mother betrayed they're gonna find some day
Everything is not OK
I used to think
The whole world's gonna sink
And where will we be
Perhaps under a shrinking Earth
There's a better place for what it's worth.
Head low but you gotta Let It Sway
No miracle gonna happen when you feel that way
Bent up but you gotta let it sway
No firecracker in the dark gonna light your way
Blown out but you gotta let it sway
c'mon now c'mon c'mon
Pretty pretty, so continental
You slide into each other's arms unintentionally
Because you want and you say
Was you cool like me?
Think I gotta say no way, no way
I used to think
The whole world's gonna sink
And where will we be
Perhaps under a shrinking Earth
There's a better place for what it's worth.
Hell no but you gotta let it sway
No miracle gonna happen when you feel that way
Bent up but you gotta let it sway
No firecracker in the dark gonna light your way
Blown out but you gotta let it sway
Throw my candle in the fire and I'm on my way
Head low but you gotta let it sway
C'mon now, c'mon c'mon
Lyrics submitted by minimegoosey
Sink/Let It Sway Lyrics as written by Philip Abram Dickey John Robert Cardwell
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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So good, possibly the best song they've ever written