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.
Just living on a Sunday morning, got my toast and tea and I'm warm and I
just thought I'd think about. All the things to get and keep getting, never
enough not enough and never ending. I just thought I'd think about. And it
might be...
The comfort of a knowledge of a rise above the sky above could
never parallel the challenge of an acquisition in the here and now.
Parody of yourself in color, giving it to everybody but your mother. You've got much to
think about. Soaring higher with every treason. Never justify, never reason.
You've got much to think about. And it might be...
[The fast part again.]
just thought I'd think about. All the things to get and keep getting, never
enough not enough and never ending. I just thought I'd think about. And it
might be...
The comfort of a knowledge of a rise above the sky above could
never parallel the challenge of an acquisition in the here and now.
Parody of yourself in color, giving it to everybody but your mother. You've got much to
think about. Soaring higher with every treason. Never justify, never reason.
You've got much to think about. And it might be...
[The fast part again.]
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar, edited by Iago1604
Here & Now Lyrics as written by Kay Hanley Greg Mckenna
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
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.
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
It's got a nice moral...don't focus on "rising above the sky" or being important...just live for the moment. There's so much crap a person can think about or try to achieve but in the end its only going to keep you from having fun. Live in the here and now.
Letters to Cleo was amazing. How is Kay Hanley's new band, Ladyapples? I haven't heard them.
I think this song is about a teenager who is just beginning to think about the meaning of life and living, and all that. I can definitely relate to "parody of yourself in color, giving it to everybody but your mother" - in other words, showing your vivid true self to everyone but your family.
there's a word missing...after the word "sky" should be the word "above" again. i submitted it, but just in case, b/c i know it's so hard to figure out!
my old garage band, we never got our sound when we played out. we got lucky enough to open for letters to cleo. i remember when they did this! the singer blew me away with her intensity.
great energy pulling off lyrics like this live, not in a studio situation. i was impressed.
From an interview with WGBH Boston. Q: Hanley was going through a breakup while writing the record… A: Oh yeah. It was a pretty big breakup.
Q: … and things that happened in that relationship made their way into the song. A: He always used to tell people that, 'you’re a parody of yourself.' Like that was his ultimate diss that he could give someone. And honestly to this day he's like,'Where are my royalties for that line?' I think he just asked me that again like 2 years ago. And he had a book called The Comfort of Strangers under our coffee table for years. I never read it but the title stood out to me. So that became ‘comfort of knowledge’ and it’s about karma and energy. And the ‘comfort of a knowledge of a rise above the sky above,’ is like you know you’re going to heaven so just do whatever you want while you’re here. It’s a rejection of that idea.
Q: She believes that your time on earth is finite, and that you should be the best version of yourself while you’re here. A: You should be good while you’re here. You should live the best version of yourself while you’re here as opposed to relying on this huge sky ghost to take care of you later.
Based on feeling accumulated from last few songs, now, in here and now, I can feel the lyricist is trying to make peace with time. He is trying to takes things easy and just let time go. But he still has fear of maybe losing that girl forever. But he is trying to accept it.
so much shit to think about..that is what it is about