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.
One, two, one, two, three
2020 enemies
What a dismal odyssey
Hell bound the apathy
Is there any remedy?
'Cause we bicker over Listerine
With Twitter as our liturgy
What a crummy legacy
2020 enemies
If I were you
And you were me
Would we still be doomed
To disagree?
'Cause you'd be me
If I were you
And you never see
My point of view
If I were you
If I were you, mm-mm
Hey Romeo, it's Juliet
Are you Montague or Capulet?
Or some denigrating apathetic
Insult that we both forget?
'Cause fake is on the internet
And fear is on the TV set
Our rage is a habitat
For our 2020 novelettes
If I were you (if I were you)
And you were me (and you were me)
Would we still be doomed (would we still be doomed)
To disagree? (To disagree?)
'Cause you'd be me ('cause you'd be me)
If I were you (if I were you)
And you never see (and you never see)
My point of view (my point of view)
If I were you
Hey babe, we're the dinosaurs (oh-oh)
I get the feeling we've been here before (oh-oh-oh)
Ain't it clear what we're aiming for? (Oh-oh)
Hey babe, we're the dinosaurs
Yeah, but what if me and you
Were in each other shoes
Could we break through?
To somewhere different, somewhere new
'Cause if you're stuck with me
I guess I'm stuck with you
Could we rise above the scars
That we both put each other through
If I were you (I think I'm ready to try us)
And you were me (I think I'm ready to try)
Would we still be doomed (to put the past behind us)
To disagree? (Yeah, to put the past behind)
'Cause you'd be me ('cause it's already behind us)
If I were you (yeah, I'm sick of falling behind)
And all I see (I think I'm ready to try us)
Is what you put me through (maybe I'd be ready to try)
If I were you
And you were me, I would be you
And then we'd both be true
I wonder what we'd do
If you were me, I would be you
Would one plus one be two?
I wonder what we'd do
If I were you
2020 enemies
What a dismal odyssey
Hell bound the apathy
Is there any remedy?
'Cause we bicker over Listerine
With Twitter as our liturgy
What a crummy legacy
2020 enemies
If I were you
And you were me
Would we still be doomed
To disagree?
'Cause you'd be me
If I were you
And you never see
My point of view
If I were you
If I were you, mm-mm
Hey Romeo, it's Juliet
Are you Montague or Capulet?
Or some denigrating apathetic
Insult that we both forget?
'Cause fake is on the internet
And fear is on the TV set
Our rage is a habitat
For our 2020 novelettes
If I were you (if I were you)
And you were me (and you were me)
Would we still be doomed (would we still be doomed)
To disagree? (To disagree?)
'Cause you'd be me ('cause you'd be me)
If I were you (if I were you)
And you never see (and you never see)
My point of view (my point of view)
If I were you
Hey babe, we're the dinosaurs (oh-oh)
I get the feeling we've been here before (oh-oh-oh)
Ain't it clear what we're aiming for? (Oh-oh)
Hey babe, we're the dinosaurs
Yeah, but what if me and you
Were in each other shoes
Could we break through?
To somewhere different, somewhere new
'Cause if you're stuck with me
I guess I'm stuck with you
Could we rise above the scars
That we both put each other through
If I were you (I think I'm ready to try us)
And you were me (I think I'm ready to try)
Would we still be doomed (to put the past behind us)
To disagree? (Yeah, to put the past behind)
'Cause you'd be me ('cause it's already behind us)
If I were you (yeah, I'm sick of falling behind)
And all I see (I think I'm ready to try us)
Is what you put me through (maybe I'd be ready to try)
If I were you
And you were me, I would be you
And then we'd both be true
I wonder what we'd do
If you were me, I would be you
Would one plus one be two?
I wonder what we'd do
If I were you
Lyrics submitted by manprettys_panties
if i were you Lyrics as written by Tim Foreman Jon Foreman
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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It's a shame that so many of these people have only heard of switchfoot because of 'A Walk to Remember'
@obfuscate no, its not a shame. The point is for the music to reach as many people as possible, no matter the means.