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 never thought you were the letter writing type
So now I see the words you chose the way you write
So I started to write back about the trees in the snow
And I saw a bird, couldn't see what it was but I thought you'd know
You always surprised me
And if I wrote You
If I wrote You
You would know me
And you would not write me again
And when the spring came and flooded all the streams
It's like how you got the night you told me all your dreams
And when the barn roof sagged after an icy bout
It's like how you got when you knew the truth was the only way out
But not the only way
And if I wrote you
If I wrote you
You would know me
And you would not write me again
We drew our arms around the bastard sons
We never would drink to the chosen ones
Well you know the way I left was not the way I planned
But I thought the world needed love and a steady hand
So I'm steady now
And I'm so happy
I had to tell you
And I love you
And you will not write me again
You will not write me again
You will not write me again
So now I see the words you chose the way you write
So I started to write back about the trees in the snow
And I saw a bird, couldn't see what it was but I thought you'd know
You always surprised me
And if I wrote You
If I wrote You
You would know me
And you would not write me again
And when the spring came and flooded all the streams
It's like how you got the night you told me all your dreams
And when the barn roof sagged after an icy bout
It's like how you got when you knew the truth was the only way out
But not the only way
And if I wrote you
If I wrote you
You would know me
And you would not write me again
We drew our arms around the bastard sons
We never would drink to the chosen ones
Well you know the way I left was not the way I planned
But I thought the world needed love and a steady hand
So I'm steady now
And I'm so happy
I had to tell you
And I love you
And you will not write me again
You will not write me again
You will not write me again
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
an interview with dar
Q. In the publicity material for this song [If I Wrote You] you said that there is the insinuation that the narrator is clean and sober now. On the album I see that it is dedicated to the memory of Townes Van Zandt. A. It goes either way, but it doesn't work completely for being about Townes Van Zandt. In a sense, he could be the narrator deceiving someone, he was a notorious alcoholic, but beloved. One of the things that the narrator is saying is that we have had a destructive relationship and I had to get away, but another thing the narrator is saying is that you are a completely worth it, wonderful human being. I feel like the narrator is saying, "I'm not going to judge you but I had to get away."
Q I have been wondering about the lines, "The truth was the only way out,/ But not the only way." A. That was a line I wrote after I realized that it was an autobiographical song. I didn't think it was, I was just trying to flesh out a certain narrator, and then I realized who it was about. I think that these two people knew that there was only one way to go if they were going to be successful. I watched them get that glint of recognition of which way they should go. I watched that recognition and then I saw a secondary understanding, that given that was the way you should go, you could go a number of other ways and get away with it. It was really helpful to suddenly have a reference point and to be going off a live model instead of an abstract.