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.
I found the picture of us in the yard
Some things are lost
And some things, I guess, get found
You had that shirt on - you loved The Cars
You always wore it; I never got that sound
You had that cat... just what was its name?
I can't remember; It's not important now
I never wonder where you are now
I just forgot it
Maybe I should write shit down
Was that the day I lost your keys
When we were stoned at the beach?
Maybe someday you'll let me know
There was a summer, dazed in the sun
Until September; It's not important now
When was your birthday? Pearl Harbor Day?
And I forgot it... next time I'll write it down
I hate nostalgia, it tries too hard
To remember only the easy parts
Now I wonder where you are now
I can't forget it now that I wrote it down
Was that the day my calls were screened?
(I saw the caller ID...)
Was that the day that I was seen
Kissing your friend on 3rd Street?
I never thought that I was mean
How could I have not seen?
Maybe someday I'll let you know
I never thought that I was mean
How could I have not seen?
That was the day, that was the scene
I just rewrote the ending
Maybe someday you'll let me know
Some things are lost
And some things, I guess, get found
You had that shirt on - you loved The Cars
You always wore it; I never got that sound
You had that cat... just what was its name?
I can't remember; It's not important now
I never wonder where you are now
I just forgot it
Maybe I should write shit down
Was that the day I lost your keys
When we were stoned at the beach?
Maybe someday you'll let me know
There was a summer, dazed in the sun
Until September; It's not important now
When was your birthday? Pearl Harbor Day?
And I forgot it... next time I'll write it down
I hate nostalgia, it tries too hard
To remember only the easy parts
Now I wonder where you are now
I can't forget it now that I wrote it down
Was that the day my calls were screened?
(I saw the caller ID...)
Was that the day that I was seen
Kissing your friend on 3rd Street?
I never thought that I was mean
How could I have not seen?
Maybe someday I'll let you know
I never thought that I was mean
How could I have not seen?
That was the day, that was the scene
I just rewrote the ending
Maybe someday you'll let me know
Lyrics submitted by rabidpenguin
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fucking weird how I was listening to this song the day my ex broke up with me & his fucking birthday is pearl harbor day too. it was creepy
"I hate nostalgia. It tries too hard to remember only the easy parts."
i think that's the basic idea behind the song, but this is just my second or third listen. either way, that part is brilliant. i hate nostalgia.
yeah, to me it's about being reminded of someone, so it starts off this whole train of thought going back down memory lane... and with each new thing he remembers, he realizes how much he really never forgot about. by the end of the song, he realizes there is a lot he has chosen to remember differently than how it actually happened... and upon realizing this, i think he regrets the way things really played out, he wishes he could just forget, or go back to thinking things were the way he had "rewritten" them in his mind...but of course, once you've dwelled on that nostalgia long enough to remember how things REALLY happened, you can never go back to the idealized past you had in your mind before. reality bites.
this song really makes me think of holding my hand to my forehead leaning against a wall with a headache brought on by memories I'd rather forget.