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.
For a long time I was in love
Not only in love, I was obsessed
With a friendship that no one else could touch
It didn't work out, I'm covered in shells
And all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
And all I needed was a simple man
So I could be a wife
I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean
I don't know how it got to this point
Ooh, I always was the one with all the love
You came along, I'm hunting you down, oh
Like a sick domestic abuser looking for a fight
Oh, and all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
Oh
If we met tomorrow for the very first time
Would it start all over again?
Would I try to make you mine?
I always thought I'd be a mom
Sometimes I wish for a mistake
The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get
You seem like you'd be a good dad
Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life
How'd I get so faithful to my freedom?
A selfish kind of life
When all I ever wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
Not only in love, I was obsessed
With a friendship that no one else could touch
It didn't work out, I'm covered in shells
And all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
And all I needed was a simple man
So I could be a wife
I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean
I don't know how it got to this point
Ooh, I always was the one with all the love
You came along, I'm hunting you down, oh
Like a sick domestic abuser looking for a fight
Oh, and all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
Oh
If we met tomorrow for the very first time
Would it start all over again?
Would I try to make you mine?
I always thought I'd be a mom
Sometimes I wish for a mistake
The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get
You seem like you'd be a good dad
Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life
How'd I get so faithful to my freedom?
A selfish kind of life
When all I ever wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
A simple kind of life
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Okay, A) people are ass faces. Just because someone falls in love twice and wants to spend the rest of her life with the guys, doesnt mean she is obsessed with love. It means she has ambitions to be a mom, and conventional. I really like this song though, A) Adrian's drum part is so haunting, and it gets stuck in my head B) its emotional and honest, deep lyrics C) it just all around makes sense, and the video is cool. I wish I had hair like that.