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.
I will not sing your ugly song
I won't put on your ugly play
I cannot join your ugly priesthood
And if I die I won't come home
Railroad boy of mine...
I bought you crows and candelabra
And I went moth-eating with you
I held you down when you had seizures
And read to you at bedtime
Railroad boy of mine...
We went to see a beaver dam
We went to see a coral reef
But life is more than going to see things
And that's too bad
Railroad boy of mine
Railroad boy of mine...
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It's about leaving someone behind because it's in your best interest. Stopping, telling them it's over. There's no particular reason - or maybe there is, but it's vague - it's just time for whatever you had with that person to end. You're not getting what you're giving, and you've given enough. They can continue living their life. You're starting a new one. They can keep going down their path - you're turning around.