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.
When you were young
You were the king of carrot flowers
And how you built a tower tumbling through the trees
In holy rattlesnakes that fell all around your feet
And your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder
And dad would throw the garbage all across the floor
As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for
And this is the room
One afternoon I knew I could love you
And from above you, how I sank into your soul
Into that secret place where no one dares to go
And your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking
And dad would dream of all the different ways to die
Each one a little more than he could dare to try
You were the king of carrot flowers
And how you built a tower tumbling through the trees
In holy rattlesnakes that fell all around your feet
And your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder
And dad would throw the garbage all across the floor
As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for
And this is the room
One afternoon I knew I could love you
And from above you, how I sank into your soul
Into that secret place where no one dares to go
And your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking
And dad would dream of all the different ways to die
Each one a little more than he could dare to try
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
I personally agree with the dysfunctional family interpretation. I've never read the Anne Frank diaries so I'm not sure if there's any relation in this particular song.
Also I think the "king of carrot flowers" line implies a child pretending or acting bigger and more important than they are. I've never seen carrot flowers but I googled an image and they're small and rather ugly, and also they are not the reason people grow carrots. So to be the king of carrot flowers suggests a self-aggrandizing person.
The "tower tumbling through the trees/in holy rattlesnakes that fell all around your feet" part suggests to me that the "king of carrot flowers" has made a grand, ego-derived scheme(tower), but it failed (tumbling through the trees) and perhaps even backfired and caused injury to them (rattlesnakes fell all around your feet).
I don't know how the first verse ties into the rest of the song, though, because if it has such a negative connotation it doesn't make sense to apply it to the person who is referred to as "you" in the rest of the song. Perhaps it is towards the mother, because she seems to play the more aggressive part in the relationship--sticking the fork in daddy's shoulder--compared to the father's passive-aggressive behavior--throwing garbage and contemplating suicide. However, the mother also takes some passive action (alcoholism), and it is the king, not queen, of carrot flowers. It could still be the father, because he is negatively portrayed as well, but his passivity suggests that the self-aggrandizement is in his mind (which is pointless, parallel to being a king of carrot flowers).
So my best guess is that the King is either the father or a person not in the song.