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.
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
Nobody's winning
The sharks are swimming in the red
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
While you are sleeping
My mind goes creaking down the wall
Slow down
Dilettante
So I can limp beside you
I'm following your houndstooth
Hang on
Street savant
My bank in my back pocket
How far you think it'd take us?
You're like a party I heard through a wall
I'm, I'm always watching you through a keyhole
But let's not forget
Let's not forget
Let's not forget
Why we crawled here
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
I got no patience
For an estrangement anyway
Wake up
Avenue C
Your hometown is still sleeping
You're like a party I heard through a wall
Invite me
But I'm always watching you through a keyhole
But let's not forget
Let's not forget
Let's not forget
Where we crawled from
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
What is so pressing
That you can't undress me, anyway?
Don't make me wait
Nobody's winning
The sharks are swimming in the red
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
While you are sleeping
My mind goes creaking down the wall
Slow down
Dilettante
So I can limp beside you
I'm following your houndstooth
Hang on
Street savant
My bank in my back pocket
How far you think it'd take us?
You're like a party I heard through a wall
I'm, I'm always watching you through a keyhole
But let's not forget
Let's not forget
Let's not forget
Why we crawled here
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
I got no patience
For an estrangement anyway
Wake up
Avenue C
Your hometown is still sleeping
You're like a party I heard through a wall
Invite me
But I'm always watching you through a keyhole
But let's not forget
Let's not forget
Let's not forget
Where we crawled from
Oh, Elijah
Don't make me wait
What is so pressing
That you can't undress me, anyway?
Lyrics submitted by wild_ cosmia
Dilettante Lyrics as written by Anne Clark
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I wonder if the name Elijah is a reference to the Biblical prophet who hid in the desert for three years, or is the actual name of a man she is hoping to see; perhaps both?
Maybe I'm pushing it but perhaps the reference to sharks is a vague reference to King Ahab, which sounds like Captain Ahab who sought Moby Dick, or maybe they are just the money pushers behind her recording career.
The line "you're like a party I heard through a wall" -that I suspect may be a direct reference to the Del Amitri song "Heard through a wall". The song of an eager lover who promises to burst into the life of his love and make her heart swoon. As a live performer I'm sure she spends lots of time touring and likely may overhear other lovers through the doors and walls of hotel rooms.
During the seder holiday a special goblet of wine is filled for the prophet Elijah, then the door is opened to allow him to enter and drink; and at every bris a chair is set aside for him. This song is a song of invitation and waiting, of her longing to be with her own personal Elijah.