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.
True love is a rose behind glass
That's locked and kept closed
Maybe just to me
'Cause my heart's been attacked
And shattered by tough love bad love
So I bought mine off the street
True love, man, it just can't be beat
I felt so complete
Married to heavenly bodies above
And each night I'd look up
At a bright honey moon
'Cause it sure seemed built to last
And even after my honeymoon passed
I kept right with it, man
Like a ghost to a house it once haunted
And day after day
I'd steal with my true love away
To some hideout we're left undisturbed
We could do what we wanted
But I started to feel like a liar
Saying I love you
She was madly in love or mad mean
There was no in between it raised my alarm
I found I can't make a stand
I'm her hired hand i have to do harm
One day I got sick
She played me a nasty old trick
Said, "I need cigarettes"
Walked 'round the block caught a cab
Stayed gone for too long
My love had gotten so strong
Just to try being back on my own
I had to go to rehab
All I need is a safe place to bleed
Is this where it's at? Half of no chance
Steps in a dance
Rest of my life spent in combat
Now I'm the king of the ward
'Cause I'm good and I swallow my sword
And puke it out for the doctor
To write me a new prescription
Tranquil as a dove
People that have lost their true love
They all seem to fit the same description
I feel cold, useless and old
I wish I was no one
Take me up, my Lord take me up today
Take me out of this place
Take me up with you today
That's locked and kept closed
Maybe just to me
'Cause my heart's been attacked
And shattered by tough love bad love
So I bought mine off the street
True love, man, it just can't be beat
I felt so complete
Married to heavenly bodies above
And each night I'd look up
At a bright honey moon
'Cause it sure seemed built to last
And even after my honeymoon passed
I kept right with it, man
Like a ghost to a house it once haunted
And day after day
I'd steal with my true love away
To some hideout we're left undisturbed
We could do what we wanted
But I started to feel like a liar
Saying I love you
She was madly in love or mad mean
There was no in between it raised my alarm
I found I can't make a stand
I'm her hired hand i have to do harm
One day I got sick
She played me a nasty old trick
Said, "I need cigarettes"
Walked 'round the block caught a cab
Stayed gone for too long
My love had gotten so strong
Just to try being back on my own
I had to go to rehab
All I need is a safe place to bleed
Is this where it's at? Half of no chance
Steps in a dance
Rest of my life spent in combat
Now I'm the king of the ward
'Cause I'm good and I swallow my sword
And puke it out for the doctor
To write me a new prescription
Tranquil as a dove
People that have lost their true love
They all seem to fit the same description
I feel cold, useless and old
I wish I was no one
Take me up, my Lord take me up today
Take me out of this place
Take me up with you today
Lyrics submitted by dragonflower44, edited by lisasays85
True Love Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © CONEXION MEDIA GROUP, INC.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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"wellwhiskey" i think you described it perfectly. At its core it is a song about his search for true love. Like "javsav" I think that people seem to get overly defensive when people say Elliott's lyrics are about drugs. ("High times is an amazingly powerful song") To say he wrote about drug addiction in no way undermines his lyrical ability. Lou Reed sang about heroin and is legendary for it. This is the most beautiful song about drug addiction I have ever heard; and one of the best love songs.