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.
Trust me
It's Paradise
This is where the hungry come to feed
For mine is a generation that circles the globe
in search of something we haven't tried before
So never refuse an invitation
Never resist the unfamiliar
Never fail to be polite
and never outstay your welcome
Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience
And if it hurts, you know what it's probably worth it
You hope and you dream
But you never believe that
something is going to happen for you
Not like it does in the movies
And when it actually does
You expect it to feel different
More visceral
More real
I was waiting for it to hit me
I still believe in paradise
But now at least i know it's not some place you can look for
'Cause it's not where you go
It's how you feel for a moment in your life
And if you find that moment, it lasts forever
It lasts forever
Lasts forever
It's Paradise
This is where the hungry come to feed
For mine is a generation that circles the globe
in search of something we haven't tried before
So never refuse an invitation
Never resist the unfamiliar
Never fail to be polite
and never outstay your welcome
Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience
And if it hurts, you know what it's probably worth it
You hope and you dream
But you never believe that
something is going to happen for you
Not like it does in the movies
And when it actually does
You expect it to feel different
More visceral
More real
I was waiting for it to hit me
I still believe in paradise
But now at least i know it's not some place you can look for
'Cause it's not where you go
It's how you feel for a moment in your life
And if you find that moment, it lasts forever
It lasts forever
Lasts forever
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I'll know that voice anywhere.