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.
Forgot to tell you
Sins are very hard to say
And you know that the words are there, my love
When I first saw you
I didn't notice it that day
Now you're the one I'm thinking of.
[Chorus:]
Oh, you never bring me down
Make me sad, it's such a change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
If I was insecure
That was yesterday and now I'm sure
Oh, so sure (oh so sure, so sure).
When I was a little girl
I wanted everything ideal
Yeah, and a love I could depend on
This is the real world
And I believe our love is real
And it's the only thing I'm counting on.
[Chorus]
Oh, you never bring me down
Make me sad, it's such a change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
If I was insecure
That was yesterday and now I'm sure
Oh, so sure.
[Chorus]
Oh, you never bring me down
Make me sad, it's such a change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
If I was insecure
That was yesterday and now I'm sure
Oh, so sure, oh.
This is the real world
I really want to be your girl
This is the real world (real world)
I really want to be your girl
This is the real world (real world)
I really want to be your girl.
Sins are very hard to say
And you know that the words are there, my love
When I first saw you
I didn't notice it that day
Now you're the one I'm thinking of.
[Chorus:]
Oh, you never bring me down
Make me sad, it's such a change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
If I was insecure
That was yesterday and now I'm sure
Oh, so sure (oh so sure, so sure).
When I was a little girl
I wanted everything ideal
Yeah, and a love I could depend on
This is the real world
And I believe our love is real
And it's the only thing I'm counting on.
[Chorus]
Oh, you never bring me down
Make me sad, it's such a change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
If I was insecure
That was yesterday and now I'm sure
Oh, so sure.
[Chorus]
Oh, you never bring me down
Make me sad, it's such a change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
If I was insecure
That was yesterday and now I'm sure
Oh, so sure, oh.
This is the real world
I really want to be your girl
This is the real world (real world)
I really want to be your girl
This is the real world (real world)
I really want to be your girl.
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This song is one of the first songs they ever wrote, and it shows up on one of their earliest demo tapes, which has their name listed as "The Colors" (their original name.) One of the forgotten chapters of this band's history was their involvement with the nationally syndicated radio program The Rock and Roll Alternative. DJ George Gilmarc managed to acquire a copy of this 1980 demo tape; he liked "The Real World" so much he played the song on his show, and It was the band's first nationwide exposure. (Out of gratitude, the band later recorded the theme song to the Rock and Roll Alternative.) The song itself is about how a woman is expressing her real love for a man - she wants him to know this is real, and she wants to be with him.