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.
All these...
I got bugs
I got bugs in my room
Bugs in my bed
Bugs in my ears
Their eggs in my head
Bugs in my pockets
Bugs in my shoes
Bugs in the way I feel about you
Bugs on my window
Trying to get in
They don't go nowhere
Waiting waiting...
Bugs on my ceiling
Crowded the floor
Standing sitting kneeling...
A few block the door
And now the question's:
Do I kill them?
Become their friend?
Do I eat them?
Raw or well done?
Do I trick them?
I don't think they're that dumb
Do I join them?
Looks like that's the one
I got bugs on my skin
Tickle my nausea
I let it happen again
They're always takin' over
I see they surround me, I see...
See them deciding my fate
Oh, that which was once...was once up to me...
Now it's too late
I got bugs in my room...one on one
That's when I had a chance
I'll just stop now
I'll become naked
And with the...I'll become one
I got bugs
I got bugs in my room
Bugs in my bed
Bugs in my ears
Their eggs in my head
Bugs in my pockets
Bugs in my shoes
Bugs in the way I feel about you
Bugs on my window
Trying to get in
They don't go nowhere
Waiting waiting...
Bugs on my ceiling
Crowded the floor
Standing sitting kneeling...
A few block the door
And now the question's:
Do I kill them?
Become their friend?
Do I eat them?
Raw or well done?
Do I trick them?
I don't think they're that dumb
Do I join them?
Looks like that's the one
I got bugs on my skin
Tickle my nausea
I let it happen again
They're always takin' over
I see they surround me, I see...
See them deciding my fate
Oh, that which was once...was once up to me...
Now it's too late
I got bugs in my room...one on one
That's when I had a chance
I'll just stop now
I'll become naked
And with the...I'll become one
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I think that like other songs on this album, this is about coming to terms with being famous. The bugs are everything irritating him - the fans, the business, the media, etc. Should he fight them? Should he listen to them? Should he try to ignore them? Using the accordion was a great move. They should have got Weird Al to sit in.