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.
Yeah we say making changes
Starts in the little things you do
"Revolution begins at home"
But for most of us it ends there, too
We're doing something
We're making changes
Like changing the kind of crap we buy
We say it makes a difference
But that's just another lie
It used to be Us and Them
And You and Me
And now we can't reach
Our full potential
Without a common enemy
A real war to fight against
Instead of our petty disagreements
But how can I rationalize
My life during wartime lie
A call to action and a reaction
Taking our lives in our own hands
Instead of sitting around talking
About the same old stupid bands
But war is going on right now
And I'm not doing anything about it
Without a crowd I'm not so loud
I can't do anything by myself
But that's just another lie
Starts in the little things you do
"Revolution begins at home"
But for most of us it ends there, too
We're doing something
We're making changes
Like changing the kind of crap we buy
We say it makes a difference
But that's just another lie
It used to be Us and Them
And You and Me
And now we can't reach
Our full potential
Without a common enemy
A real war to fight against
Instead of our petty disagreements
But how can I rationalize
My life during wartime lie
A call to action and a reaction
Taking our lives in our own hands
Instead of sitting around talking
About the same old stupid bands
But war is going on right now
And I'm not doing anything about it
Without a crowd I'm not so loud
I can't do anything by myself
But that's just another lie
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Green Day has just released this song in protest of the Gulf War II. It really is a great song and I think it sums up how a lot of people are feeling right now:
-How can I rationalize my life during wartime lie?
These lines are the best part: But war is going on right now/ And I'm not doing anything about it/ Without a crowd I'm not so loud/ I can't do anything by myself/ But that's just another lie
That is exactly what is going on in America. We're being told that dissent is unpatriotic and that since our president has chosen for us to go to war that we should stand by the decision (right or wrong) because we're Americans --that anti-war sentiment will do nothing. But, as this song says, we can do something. And we should do something. It's time.