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 will say it's not even funny
And there you stand, not even trying
They say it is in line with the aging
Sometimes noise is just your mind
But the lesson is vague and the lightning
Shows a deer with her mind on the moor
And now something with the sun is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
As I lower down I hear it's a message
And it's 1902 telling people to get out
If there was a just a way I could tell them
It's been long, but you are right
The singing is slow and so quiet
Like the sound when you sweep off the floor
And now something with the dirt is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
When the night is young
But the bridge is up
Something passing by our shore
The only one you can tell it to
Is the only one that will know
As one rock was made to go through my window
Here is something so strange and something louder than before
You're living with no light or direction but damn precise
And now you know
That believing is hard but you go now
And you feel what you drag across the floor
And now something in these trails is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
Some will say it's not even healthy
But body is young and mind is sure
That at least something is alright with your thinking
Because they shook the earth in 1904.
And there you stand, not even trying
They say it is in line with the aging
Sometimes noise is just your mind
But the lesson is vague and the lightning
Shows a deer with her mind on the moor
And now something with the sun is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
As I lower down I hear it's a message
And it's 1902 telling people to get out
If there was a just a way I could tell them
It's been long, but you are right
The singing is slow and so quiet
Like the sound when you sweep off the floor
And now something with the dirt is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
When the night is young
But the bridge is up
Something passing by our shore
The only one you can tell it to
Is the only one that will know
As one rock was made to go through my window
Here is something so strange and something louder than before
You're living with no light or direction but damn precise
And now you know
That believing is hard but you go now
And you feel what you drag across the floor
And now something in these trails is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
Some will say it's not even healthy
But body is young and mind is sure
That at least something is alright with your thinking
Because they shook the earth in 1904.
Lyrics submitted by Kashika, edited by Xamnam, sarahmarks
1904 Lyrics as written by Kristian Matsson
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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@ Jeff; is that a tsunami warning device? When I googled 1904 earthquake, it led me to the Douliu (Japanese island) earthquake which was one of the first to be monitored and recorded by a seismograph. Interesting!