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.
The fire's dying out
All the embers have been spent
Outside on the street
Lovers hide in the shadows
You look at me
I look at you
There's only one thing
I want you to do
Kiss me
I want you to kiss me
Like a stranger once again
Kiss me like a stranger once again
I want to believe that our love's a mystery
I want to believe that our love's a sin
I want you to kiss me like a stranger once again
You wear the same kind of perfume
You wore when we met
I suppose there's something comforting in knowing what to expect
But when you brushed up against me
Before I knew your name
Everything was thrilling
'Cause nothing was the same
I want you to kiss me
I want you to kiss me
Like a stranger once again
Kiss me like a stranger once again
I want to believe our loves a mystery
I want to believe our loves a sin
Oh will you kiss me like a stranger once again
I want you to kiss me like a stranger
Kiss me like a stranger once again
All the embers have been spent
Outside on the street
Lovers hide in the shadows
You look at me
I look at you
There's only one thing
I want you to do
Kiss me
I want you to kiss me
Like a stranger once again
Kiss me like a stranger once again
I want to believe that our love's a mystery
I want to believe that our love's a sin
I want you to kiss me like a stranger once again
You wear the same kind of perfume
You wore when we met
I suppose there's something comforting in knowing what to expect
But when you brushed up against me
Before I knew your name
Everything was thrilling
'Cause nothing was the same
I want you to kiss me
I want you to kiss me
Like a stranger once again
Kiss me like a stranger once again
I want to believe our loves a mystery
I want to believe our loves a sin
Oh will you kiss me like a stranger once again
I want you to kiss me like a stranger
Kiss me like a stranger once again
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A song about the challenge for any longlasting relationship: how to keep the thrill and passion? The thrill of love makes us feel alive, while the lack of it leads to anxieties about death and loneliness. An affair may be a solution, for the monogamist it is perhaps worth a try to kiss your partner ‘as a stranger’. An existencialist song; it seems to me one of the best on the new record.