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.
Gee but it's great to be back home
Home is where I want to be
I've been on the road so long my friend
And if you came along
I know you couldn't disagree
It's the same old story, yeah
Everywhere I go
I get slandered, libeled
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my customers satisfied
Satisfied
Deputy Sheriff said to me
Tell me what you come here for, boy
You better get your bags and flee
You're in trouble boy
And you're heading into more
It's the same old story
Everywhere I go
I get slandered, libeled
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my customers satisfied
Satisfied
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
It's the same old story
Everywhere I go
I get slandered, libeled
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm so tired, so tired
But I'm trying to keep my customers satisfied
Satisfied
Home is where I want to be
I've been on the road so long my friend
And if you came along
I know you couldn't disagree
It's the same old story, yeah
Everywhere I go
I get slandered, libeled
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my customers satisfied
Satisfied
Deputy Sheriff said to me
Tell me what you come here for, boy
You better get your bags and flee
You're in trouble boy
And you're heading into more
It's the same old story
Everywhere I go
I get slandered, libeled
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my customers satisfied
Satisfied
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
It's the same old story
Everywhere I go
I get slandered, libeled
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm so tired, so tired
But I'm trying to keep my customers satisfied
Satisfied
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Agree that there is a definite reference to race in the lyrics: "shoe shine", "boy", "county line". The song (which I love) could refer to a black man, a civil rights worker, a salesman/con man, an itinerant worker. A drug dealer is a possibility, too.
Keep the Customer Satisfied was written shortly after the civil rights era, and the wording absolutely references being run out of a county in the South. (I am old enough to remember that era.)
Excellent comments from all and great site.