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.
I 'd be the last one to know
if you were always unhappy
the first one who ever asked why
It was me you abandoned
or have I imagined
that you were ever mine ?
It’s a black and white photo
of you that I own
that proves you were ever alive
Is that me that you’re holding
or am I just hoping
you held me least one time ?
There's a tap on my window
and a bird that comes
in the evenings when I 'm alone
There's a shadow that crosses
up over the ceiling above
my bed below
No two angels are alike
but I 'd want to think that
if that were you I 'd know
Love is much worse off than blind
in the arms of a ghost
Were your eyes the same kind of blue
as the sea or more
like the sky when it's dawn ?
And did your hair grow blond
by the end of the summer
and do you always wear it long ?
Did you stay between cities
in the wilderness where
living wasn't too much to bear ?
Did you fall from a wire
your pathway of fire
that overtook you there ?
There's a light that appears
up over the buildings
before the other ones
It vanishes once it's been noticed
returning back
to where it's from
No two stars are alike
but I want to think that
if that were you I'd know
Love is much worse off than blind
in the arms of a ghost
At night do you bow
with your head down and ask
God to be there with you ?
And if you do
why won’t you ask Him
why I can’t be there too ?
Now are you laughing or crying ?
Is there somebody there ?
Someone that you want near
These thoughts of you
they lie down deep
where there aren't any tears
In my sleep I can hear
the voice of a woman
that's beautiful and young
Saying do you understand
you 're none of the reasons
why I am gone ?
No two dreams are alike
but I 'd want to think that
if that were you I 'd know
Love is much worse off than blind
in the arms of a ghost
if you were always unhappy
the first one who ever asked why
It was me you abandoned
or have I imagined
that you were ever mine ?
It’s a black and white photo
of you that I own
that proves you were ever alive
Is that me that you’re holding
or am I just hoping
you held me least one time ?
There's a tap on my window
and a bird that comes
in the evenings when I 'm alone
There's a shadow that crosses
up over the ceiling above
my bed below
No two angels are alike
but I 'd want to think that
if that were you I 'd know
Love is much worse off than blind
in the arms of a ghost
Were your eyes the same kind of blue
as the sea or more
like the sky when it's dawn ?
And did your hair grow blond
by the end of the summer
and do you always wear it long ?
Did you stay between cities
in the wilderness where
living wasn't too much to bear ?
Did you fall from a wire
your pathway of fire
that overtook you there ?
There's a light that appears
up over the buildings
before the other ones
It vanishes once it's been noticed
returning back
to where it's from
No two stars are alike
but I want to think that
if that were you I'd know
Love is much worse off than blind
in the arms of a ghost
At night do you bow
with your head down and ask
God to be there with you ?
And if you do
why won’t you ask Him
why I can’t be there too ?
Now are you laughing or crying ?
Is there somebody there ?
Someone that you want near
These thoughts of you
they lie down deep
where there aren't any tears
In my sleep I can hear
the voice of a woman
that's beautiful and young
Saying do you understand
you 're none of the reasons
why I am gone ?
No two dreams are alike
but I 'd want to think that
if that were you I 'd know
Love is much worse off than blind
in the arms of a ghost
Lyrics submitted by Caveat
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