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.
Tim, wish you were born a girl
So I could've been your boyfriend
I know it's not possible now
I just never met a girl I like half as much as you
And we could lay around in bed, stay there all day
Or at least until the afternoon
And I could make you spaghetti with tomato sauce
With just a touch of oregano and a parsley stem
And then when you got sick
I could take the day off work
I could've made you chicken soup
And we could watch soap operas
Oh, those TV dramas
I could catch your cold
And you could take care of me
If I could've met you at school, or met you at work
It would have changed everything
Those years of losing, confusion and insecurity
They would have been shared
They would have been easier
Tim, wish you were born a girl
So I could've been your fiance
I'm not saying you can't be all these things for me
But it's just not the same because you're a man
And so am I
So I could've been your boyfriend
I know it's not possible now
I just never met a girl I like half as much as you
And we could lay around in bed, stay there all day
Or at least until the afternoon
And I could make you spaghetti with tomato sauce
With just a touch of oregano and a parsley stem
And then when you got sick
I could take the day off work
I could've made you chicken soup
And we could watch soap operas
Oh, those TV dramas
I could catch your cold
And you could take care of me
If I could've met you at school, or met you at work
It would have changed everything
Those years of losing, confusion and insecurity
They would have been shared
They would have been easier
Tim, wish you were born a girl
So I could've been your fiance
I'm not saying you can't be all these things for me
But it's just not the same because you're a man
And so am I
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This is such a great, adorable, silly, sweet song. I love it.