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 impact
The aftershave
The European cigarettes
The taxi
The alcohol
That lingers on your breath
The lipstick
The street lamp
The woolen overcoat
The front desk
You tell yourself
It isn't over yet
Second best, oh, second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus, I really need a rest
After all, what's wrong with second best
What's wrong with second best
The motel
The distances
Cave into kisses, cold and wet
Familiar exchanges
Like needle pulling thread
The empty movements that once were so inspired
Desperate attempts to fan the flame without the fire
The mattress creaks beneath
The symphony of misery and cum
Still, we lie jerking back and forth
And blurring into one
Second best, oh, second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus, I really need a rest
After all, what's wrong with second best
What's wrong with second best
The aftershave
The European cigarettes
The taxi
The alcohol
That lingers on your breath
The lipstick
The street lamp
The woolen overcoat
The front desk
You tell yourself
It isn't over yet
Second best, oh, second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus, I really need a rest
After all, what's wrong with second best
What's wrong with second best
The motel
The distances
Cave into kisses, cold and wet
Familiar exchanges
Like needle pulling thread
The empty movements that once were so inspired
Desperate attempts to fan the flame without the fire
The mattress creaks beneath
The symphony of misery and cum
Still, we lie jerking back and forth
And blurring into one
Second best, oh, second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus, I really need a rest
After all, what's wrong with second best
What's wrong with second best
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There's no indication at all, except for the context of the entire album this song is on.