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.
Hello, cowgirl in the sand (hello, cowgirl in the sand)
Is this place at your command?
Can I stay here for a while?
Can I see your sweet, sweet smile?
Old enough now to change your name
When so many love you is it the same?
It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game
Hello, ruby in the dust (hello, ruby in the dust)
Has your band begun to rust?
After all the sin we've had
I was hopin' that we'd turn bad
Old enough now, to change your name
When so many love you is it the same?
It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game
Hello, woman of my dreams (hello, woman of my dreams)
Is this not the way it seems?
Purple words on a gray background
To be a woman and to be turned down
Old enough now to change your name
When so many love you is it the same?
It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game
Is this place at your command?
Can I stay here for a while?
Can I see your sweet, sweet smile?
Old enough now to change your name
When so many love you is it the same?
It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game
Hello, ruby in the dust (hello, ruby in the dust)
Has your band begun to rust?
After all the sin we've had
I was hopin' that we'd turn bad
Old enough now, to change your name
When so many love you is it the same?
It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game
Hello, woman of my dreams (hello, woman of my dreams)
Is this not the way it seems?
Purple words on a gray background
To be a woman and to be turned down
Old enough now to change your name
When so many love you is it the same?
It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game
Lyrics submitted by H-bomb, edited by Lookout4MyLove
Cowgirl in the Sand Lyrics as written by Neil Young
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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For me, the cowgirl is another musician. I think the word "band" had the double meaning of wedding band and the actual band that she plays with. This is supported by the rest of the line "begins to rust." Neil has used the the word "rust" to reply to the singer Johnny Rotten who was quoted as saying that Neil was a "burnout." Neil replied that it is "better to burnout than it is to rust," and also said, "his rust never sleeps." and Neil seemed to make a prediction that Rotten's fame would be short lived.
This was born out by time, as Neil is still very much in people's minds while the Sex Pistols are hardly the most important punk band, which they seemed to be in 1976, just one of a group of bands who were involved in punk, and some people even regard them as posers who were just jumping into a scene. Neil creates his own scene. He takes a novel perspective and creative vision with every project and he is often imitated. Rust is such an important word to Neil that he used it in the title of two albums and a film.
"When so many love you" could refer to a new found success. Perhaps the cowgirl is a singer who has just emerged from obscurity like Rotten did, and maybe Neil knew her when she was just starting out. He could be replying to something she wrote about him in one of her songs. Singer/songwriters sometimes do that, communicate with each other via their songs. It is difficult to know. It seems like a very personal song, and maybe it is not appropriate to delve into these matters.
Your own subjective interpretation is the most important meaning of the song. Who does it make you think about? Someone in your life? Someone with whom you have unfinished business or unsettled feelings? The song can serve as a map to your own heart and soul.