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.
Some men collapse at the racetrack
Their wrong and beat up, their eyes black
Others wilt in casinos
Roll dice and piss away speedboats
Some dissolve into bar stools
Scratched off in boxes and playoff pools
I spent myself on a psychic
I lost my way and a friend said she would find it
Man, we were wrong.
Man, we were wrong.
I asked for the future,
She only sang me a song.
Some men they go make their own luck
Grow fat from feeding on lame ducks
The easy mark and the old maid
The invalid and the ingrate
Others wait for that high sign
Some holy hoax in the tree-line
Me, I'm counting my canned food
Bunkered down waiting out our slingshot moods
But what if I'm wrong?
What if I'm wrong?
I'll open my doors up
People, come sweep me along.
Eyes are fixed and my palms are spread
Dissonance floats my shipwrecked head
God sleeps in the Gaza strip
And man alone's left alone to live with it
The coin-flip faith of the optimist
It's beginners luck in a sewing kit
What's to do when there is no fix
On the unflinching ambivalence?
But you say that's wrong
Hopeless and wrong
We re-thread your needle,
You say, "God, play along."
Their wrong and beat up, their eyes black
Others wilt in casinos
Roll dice and piss away speedboats
Some dissolve into bar stools
Scratched off in boxes and playoff pools
I spent myself on a psychic
I lost my way and a friend said she would find it
Man, we were wrong.
Man, we were wrong.
I asked for the future,
She only sang me a song.
Some men they go make their own luck
Grow fat from feeding on lame ducks
The easy mark and the old maid
The invalid and the ingrate
Others wait for that high sign
Some holy hoax in the tree-line
Me, I'm counting my canned food
Bunkered down waiting out our slingshot moods
But what if I'm wrong?
What if I'm wrong?
I'll open my doors up
People, come sweep me along.
Eyes are fixed and my palms are spread
Dissonance floats my shipwrecked head
God sleeps in the Gaza strip
And man alone's left alone to live with it
The coin-flip faith of the optimist
It's beginners luck in a sewing kit
What's to do when there is no fix
On the unflinching ambivalence?
But you say that's wrong
Hopeless and wrong
We re-thread your needle,
You say, "God, play along."
Lyrics submitted by derekgaughan
The Easy Mark & the Old Maid Lyrics as written by Kevin Patrick Devine
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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I believe the last two lines are long. It should be "Well, rethread your needle / For your sake, I'll play along."
I believe this is a song mourning the random, chaotic nature of the world. There's the metaphor of "the easy mark & the old maid" discussed throughout; to me it generates an image of an old lady who isn't particularly good at sewing/needling, but the point is easy enough so she can still complete the task. The line "The coin-flip faith of the optimist / It's beginner's luck in a sewing kit" is connecting the main theme to the metaphor I just discussed. Essentially, the message appears to be that life is erratic and indifferent, and that faith in an ordered universe where one achieves everything they want to is basically fooling one's self into naive optimism. The speaker notices this about whoever he's addressing in this song ("I asked for the future, she only sang me a song"), but doesn't wish to burden that person with the realistic but painful knowledge he's discovered. He expresses this heavy skepticism about order (and consequently, God - "Others wait for that high sign / Some holy hoax in the tree-line") but he also admits that as a human being, he is capable of fallacy ("What if I'm wrong?") and also realizes that his realistic point of view is considered "hopeless and wrong" to the person he's addressing, so he decides to "play along" so as to keep him/her happy. Basically, ignorance is bliss and he's going to maintain the current state of affairs.
Man, this song is depressing. But honestly, that's exactly how I feel about the world. I wish I could fool myself into believing in an ordered, structured universe where everything is planned out and someone or something is watching out for all of us... but I truly feel that the universe is completely indifferent to my existence.
After listening and letting it settle before coming back to re-listen, I would agree completely with your interpretation. It really makes you think about things, especially the lines "God sleeps in the Gaza strip/ And man alone's left alone to live with it" are what hit me the hardest. <br /> <br /> I feel like he is questioning why the world thinks that some place is more holy than another when when you pray and/or beg it often feels like it is falling on deaf ears. As if you are the one that is alone. Even though you may talk/pray there is nothing but your own voice, implying you are indeed alone.<br /> <br /> I'm not saying that there isn't a God, I'm just saying that I feel like this song is pointing out that you aren't alone in feeling alone. It is just questioning thoughts that may often go through someones mind.<br /> <br /> I like this song a lot.