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.
No songs on the stereo
That we could sing with anymore
No dance that I can do
That would not embarrass you
A sound bite here and there
With no reason for me to care
[Chorus:]
It's just beige to beige
That's all it is these days
Little windows for you to crawl through
You just do what's expected of you
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days
Uniforms for this and that
To be in our club you must wear this hat
Charlie's gonna look out for you
You just do what you're supposed to do
You're gonna fit in here
Just like you should
Learn the rules and learn them good
[Chorus:]
It's just beige to beige
That's all it is these days
Little windows for you to crawl through
You just do what's expected of you
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days
If you need a thought
We'll give it to you
Our statistics show what we do is true
A world without color
Is a world without sound
A world to keep the rabble down
So close the deal, close the door
Forget about the colors that you knew before
[Chorus:]
It's just beige to beige
That's all it is these days, yeah
Little windows for you to crawl through
And Charlie gonna take care of you
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days
That we could sing with anymore
No dance that I can do
That would not embarrass you
A sound bite here and there
With no reason for me to care
[Chorus:]
It's just beige to beige
That's all it is these days
Little windows for you to crawl through
You just do what's expected of you
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days
Uniforms for this and that
To be in our club you must wear this hat
Charlie's gonna look out for you
You just do what you're supposed to do
You're gonna fit in here
Just like you should
Learn the rules and learn them good
[Chorus:]
It's just beige to beige
That's all it is these days
Little windows for you to crawl through
You just do what's expected of you
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days
If you need a thought
We'll give it to you
Our statistics show what we do is true
A world without color
Is a world without sound
A world to keep the rabble down
So close the deal, close the door
Forget about the colors that you knew before
[Chorus:]
It's just beige to beige
That's all it is these days, yeah
Little windows for you to crawl through
And Charlie gonna take care of you
It's just beige to beige to beige
These days
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Beige to Beige Lyrics as written by John Mellencamp
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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@gustavodnt Good point. I wondered if John was also referring to record companies pressuring him to be the same ol' same ol". Pigeonholing him as the guy who keeps singing different versions of Jack and Diane and Pink Houses, which of course, to his credit, he wasn't going to do.