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.
The sky grows bigger everyday
And the other week I hopped on the train
Cuttting through state lines to come to you
To come to you as the crow flies
On there is there offing everything was melon and orange
Did you know my sweet, yeah
That I once took the liberty of
Watching you in your sleep
And I just want you to know
That every pool of water reminds me of you
Is that all right?
I hope you think it’s cool, yeah
Sometimes a train can’t go fast as I want it to
Did you know my sweet, yeah
That I once took the liberty of
Watching you in your sleep
I rolled over and over
Trying to touch your knees
Underneath the sheets
Trying to touch your knees
Everything seemed a little easier
When we weren’t one hundred miles apart
The person across from me
Sitting in her train seat
Reminded me of you
And I looked out past her cheeks
Through the glass-light conduit
The sun had sunk
Disappeared into New Jersey
Oh, why don’t they have phones on these things?
What can I do
I’m stuck thinking about you
Did you know my sweet, yeah
That I once took the liberty of
Watching you in your sleep
I rolled over and over
Trying to touch your knees
Underneath the sheets
Trying to touch your knees
And the other week I hopped on the train
Cuttting through state lines to come to you
To come to you as the crow flies
On there is there offing everything was melon and orange
Did you know my sweet, yeah
That I once took the liberty of
Watching you in your sleep
And I just want you to know
That every pool of water reminds me of you
Is that all right?
I hope you think it’s cool, yeah
Sometimes a train can’t go fast as I want it to
Did you know my sweet, yeah
That I once took the liberty of
Watching you in your sleep
I rolled over and over
Trying to touch your knees
Underneath the sheets
Trying to touch your knees
Everything seemed a little easier
When we weren’t one hundred miles apart
The person across from me
Sitting in her train seat
Reminded me of you
And I looked out past her cheeks
Through the glass-light conduit
The sun had sunk
Disappeared into New Jersey
Oh, why don’t they have phones on these things?
What can I do
I’m stuck thinking about you
Did you know my sweet, yeah
That I once took the liberty of
Watching you in your sleep
I rolled over and over
Trying to touch your knees
Underneath the sheets
Trying to touch your knees
Lyrics submitted by oofus
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The 'offing' is literally the part of the ocean that is far away and just barely visible. "In the offing" is an expression that refers to something that's distant but visible or coming, in the way that a college freshman's graduation is 'in the offing'.
I think Chris makes perfect use of the expression; it's a unique way of describing both the sky that he's looking at and the future that he's anticipating. He uses unique expressions and metaphors in a way that isn't quite seamless but is instead intentionally rough around the edges, and I think this is what a lot of fans try to describe as that "something about the song" that we see so often on these comment pages.