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.
[Thurston]
Ready? Go, 1,2,3,4
[Kim Deal] [Kim Gordon]
If you want me to
I will be the one
that is always good
and you'll love me too
but you'll never know
what I feel inside
that I'm really bad
little trouble girl
remember mother?
we were close
very, very close
sha la la you taught me how to fit it good
sha la la flow down life you understood
sha la la curl my hair and eye lash
sha la la hitch my cheeks and do my lips
sha la la swing my hips just like you
sha la la smile and behave
sha la la a circle of perfection, it's what you gave
sha la la then one day I met a guy
he stole my heart, no alibi
sha la la he said: "Romance is a ticket to paradise"
sha la la momma, I'm not too young to try
sha la la we kissed, we hugged, we were close
very, very close
sha la la we danced in the sand
and the water rose - higher and higher
sha la la until I found myself floating - in the sky
I'm sorry mother, I'd rather fight
than have to lie
if you want me to
I will be the one
that is always good
and you'll love me too
but you'll never know
what I feel inside
that I'm really bad
little trouble girl
little trouble girl (what you doin'?)
little trouble girl cross my heart and hope to die,
little trouble girl I can not tell a lie
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
Ready? Go, 1,2,3,4
[Kim Deal] [Kim Gordon]
If you want me to
I will be the one
that is always good
and you'll love me too
but you'll never know
what I feel inside
that I'm really bad
little trouble girl
remember mother?
we were close
very, very close
sha la la you taught me how to fit it good
sha la la flow down life you understood
sha la la curl my hair and eye lash
sha la la hitch my cheeks and do my lips
sha la la swing my hips just like you
sha la la smile and behave
sha la la a circle of perfection, it's what you gave
sha la la then one day I met a guy
he stole my heart, no alibi
sha la la he said: "Romance is a ticket to paradise"
sha la la momma, I'm not too young to try
sha la la we kissed, we hugged, we were close
very, very close
sha la la we danced in the sand
and the water rose - higher and higher
sha la la until I found myself floating - in the sky
I'm sorry mother, I'd rather fight
than have to lie
if you want me to
I will be the one
that is always good
and you'll love me too
but you'll never know
what I feel inside
that I'm really bad
little trouble girl
little trouble girl (what you doin'?)
little trouble girl cross my heart and hope to die,
little trouble girl I can not tell a lie
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
little trouble girl ah-hu
Lyrics submitted by shut
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I have always wondered just what this song was about. The mother-daughter idea sounds pretty right.. In the clip, there is this weird alien thing and i didn't really know how that fitted in, hmm... anyway, Sonic Youth are amazing! timeless..
@my-apple-your-eye I think that it is because she feels like she is being treated like an alien for having an opinion that isn't the majority opinion by her mother. In other words:Her mother is treating her like an alien for being independent and thinking for herself.