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 remember, wasn't so long ago
We had a one room shack and the livin' was low
And my mama by herself raised me and my bro
Wasn't easy, but we did it with the little that go
Worked hard while got us off of school everyday
And kept her eyes on the stars when the skies were gray
Gave us pride to survive, really showed us the way
Now I really understood what she was tryin' to say
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
On and on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Boom-boom, couldn't have made it alone
I got a wonderful life, two kids on my own
With a strong foundation that was carved in stone
And my mama for the love that made my house a home
Made me wonder some time if this was meant to be
All this for a humble little guy like me
And all I ever really wanted was a family
To teach my kids the same value that she gave to me
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Me not gonna suffer, things are for better
Never let yourself be overcome by the pressure
?
See the man and watch ?
Blaze like fire, we nah go retire
Got nuff sleep and I am a expire
We haf a retire, that we require
We have to make a mark before the time expire
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
There's hope, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
And it strikes an iron, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah
Only the strong survive, yeah
Keep it carry on, keep it carry on, yeah
Uh-uh
I'll keep it carry on, yeah
I gotta carry on, gotta carry on and be strong
Uh-uh-uh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-uh
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
We had a one room shack and the livin' was low
And my mama by herself raised me and my bro
Wasn't easy, but we did it with the little that go
Worked hard while got us off of school everyday
And kept her eyes on the stars when the skies were gray
Gave us pride to survive, really showed us the way
Now I really understood what she was tryin' to say
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
On and on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Boom-boom, couldn't have made it alone
I got a wonderful life, two kids on my own
With a strong foundation that was carved in stone
And my mama for the love that made my house a home
Made me wonder some time if this was meant to be
All this for a humble little guy like me
And all I ever really wanted was a family
To teach my kids the same value that she gave to me
She said, "Son there'll be times when the tides are high
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry
Just never give up
You can never give up," uh-uh
In this life you could lead if you only believe
And in order to achieve what you need
You can never give up
You can never give up
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
Me not gonna suffer, things are for better
Never let yourself be overcome by the pressure
?
See the man and watch ?
Blaze like fire, we nah go retire
Got nuff sleep and I am a expire
We haf a retire, that we require
We have to make a mark before the time expire
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
There's hope, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, uh
And it strikes an iron, uh
Hope keeps it alive, yeah, yeah
Hope keeps it alive, yeah
Only the strong survive, yeah
Keep it carry on, keep it carry on, yeah
Uh-uh
I'll keep it carry on, yeah
I gotta carry on, gotta carry on and be strong
Uh-uh-uh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-uh
And this hope
That keep me holding on
And on
And this hope
That makes me carry on
On and on
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Love in a Vacuum
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Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
This is a great song. As far as i know,no video was made,which is a shame. It was released as a single which was good,but it is a much better song than It Wasnt Me. I like the Club Remix alot.