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.
She said Nathan I need ninety bucks
Puts Popov in a paper cup
It’s like she’s trying to burn her insides clean
She shimmers like some gasoline
All smoke and shaky hands
Shuts the shades and hits me with her plan
Go back and get certified
X-ray tech and MRIs
Stick with it and finally see it through
I’m sick of all this wilderness
The businessmen on business trips
The distance goes beyond the rate and time
But school don’t start until early Fall
I went ahead and made a call
Sometimes I can push ahead
Some nights the wheels just spin
Nathan, you’re my only friend
Well, Caesar is in a car right now
He says isn’t far right now
If I’m short when he shows up he’ll be so pissed
Because credit is something he don’t do
Cash is king and three for two
I’ve seen him use his hands to make a fist
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I know that I’ve been in and out
Connections they get frayed and fraught
Clouded with a million little lies
The medication sometimes works
The drinking probably doesn’t help
The shepherd should still love the lambs he’s lost
Because the flock can wander from his eyes
The hills are huge the valley is wide
The traffic on the 405
The way those wheels just spin
Nathan, you’re my only friend
So thank you for the ninety bucks
Get your coat
Give me a hug
Now it’s probably time for you to leave
Go back to your little house
Your driveway and your pull-out couch
And come back at the same time in a week
The lamb can wander from the flock
In shopping malls and parking lots
Sometimes the shepherd brings him back
Some nights the wheels just spin
Nathan, you’re my only friend
Puts Popov in a paper cup
It’s like she’s trying to burn her insides clean
She shimmers like some gasoline
All smoke and shaky hands
Shuts the shades and hits me with her plan
Go back and get certified
X-ray tech and MRIs
Stick with it and finally see it through
I’m sick of all this wilderness
The businessmen on business trips
The distance goes beyond the rate and time
But school don’t start until early Fall
I went ahead and made a call
Sometimes I can push ahead
Some nights the wheels just spin
Nathan, you’re my only friend
Well, Caesar is in a car right now
He says isn’t far right now
If I’m short when he shows up he’ll be so pissed
Because credit is something he don’t do
Cash is king and three for two
I’ve seen him use his hands to make a fist
ADVERTISING
I know that I’ve been in and out
Connections they get frayed and fraught
Clouded with a million little lies
The medication sometimes works
The drinking probably doesn’t help
The shepherd should still love the lambs he’s lost
Because the flock can wander from his eyes
The hills are huge the valley is wide
The traffic on the 405
The way those wheels just spin
Nathan, you’re my only friend
So thank you for the ninety bucks
Get your coat
Give me a hug
Now it’s probably time for you to leave
Go back to your little house
Your driveway and your pull-out couch
And come back at the same time in a week
The lamb can wander from the flock
In shopping malls and parking lots
Sometimes the shepherd brings him back
Some nights the wheels just spin
Nathan, you’re my only friend
Lyrics submitted by withinyourreach
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