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.
See the sun rise so loud
This whole town gets drowned out
Sky-writing with the sweep of a flashlight
I'm driving over that way
Some pot of gold, it's just a carpeting store on opening day
See the moon rise so slow and shallow
It burns halos in my eyes
It's harder to swallow
It's harder to breathe
So many opals, nobody here knows what to believe
They've got me underground
This whole town gets drowned out
Sky-writing with the sweep of a flashlight
I'm driving over that way
Some pot of gold, it's just a carpeting store on opening day
See the moon rise so slow and shallow
It burns halos in my eyes
It's harder to swallow
It's harder to breathe
So many opals, nobody here knows what to believe
They've got me underground
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blair23 is right.
This song was literally added at the last minute. If you look inside the CD case, you will see that this song isn't even listed there.
I love the last line of the song: "They've got me underground." Clearly a reference to how Guyville and the people around her made her the indie queen.