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.
Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face
With stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed
They talk in song from tongues of lilting grace
The sounds caress my ear
And not a word I heard could I relate
The story was quite clear
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Ooh, baby, I've been blind
Oh yeah, mama, there ain't no denyin'
Oh, ooh yes, I've been blind
Mama, mama, ain't no denyin', no denyin'
Oh, all I see, turns to brown
As the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand
As I scan this wasted land
Try to find, try to find the way I feel
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
Like sorts inside a dream
Leave the path that led me to that place
Yellow desert stream
Like Shangri-La beneath the summer moon
I will return again
As the dust that floats high in June
We're moving through Kashmir
Oh, father of the four winds fill my sails
Cross the sea of years
With no provision, but an open face
Along the straits of fear
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, when I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah
And my feet wear my fickle way to stay, yeah
Ooh yeah, yeah, ooh yeah, yeah
But I'm down, ooh yeah, yeah, ooh yeah, yeah
But I'm down, so down
Ooh, my baby, ooh, my baby
Let me take you there
Oh, oh, come on, come on
Oh, let me take you there
Let me take you there
With stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed
They talk in song from tongues of lilting grace
The sounds caress my ear
And not a word I heard could I relate
The story was quite clear
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Ooh, baby, I've been blind
Oh yeah, mama, there ain't no denyin'
Oh, ooh yes, I've been blind
Mama, mama, ain't no denyin', no denyin'
Oh, all I see, turns to brown
As the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand
As I scan this wasted land
Try to find, try to find the way I feel
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
Like sorts inside a dream
Leave the path that led me to that place
Yellow desert stream
Like Shangri-La beneath the summer moon
I will return again
As the dust that floats high in June
We're moving through Kashmir
Oh, father of the four winds fill my sails
Cross the sea of years
With no provision, but an open face
Along the straits of fear
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, when I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah
And my feet wear my fickle way to stay, yeah
Ooh yeah, yeah, ooh yeah, yeah
But I'm down, ooh yeah, yeah, ooh yeah, yeah
But I'm down, so down
Ooh, my baby, ooh, my baby
Let me take you there
Oh, oh, come on, come on
Oh, let me take you there
Let me take you there
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