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.
(lies, lies, lies, lies, lies...)
(lies, lies, lies, lies, lies...)
How does he do it? How do they do it? uncanny and immutable
This is such a happening tailpipe of a party
Like sugar, the guests are so refined
A confidence man, but why so beleaguered?
He's not a leader, he's a Texas leaguer
Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike
Drilling for fear makes the job simple
Born on third, thinks he got a triple
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way...
I remember when you sang that song about today
Now it's tomorrow and everything has changed
A think tank of aloof multiplication
A nicotine wish and a Columbus decanter
Retrenchment and hoggishness
The aristocrat choir sings, "what's the ruckus?"
The haves have not a clue
The immenseness of suffering
And the odd negotiation, a rarity
With onionskin plausibility of life
And a keyboard reaffirmation
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way...
I remember when you sang that song about today
Now it's tomorrow and everything has changed
I remember when you sang that song about today
Now it's tomorrow and everything has changed
Changed, changed, chains, etc...
(lies, lies, lies, lies, lies...)
How does he do it? How do they do it? uncanny and immutable
This is such a happening tailpipe of a party
Like sugar, the guests are so refined
A confidence man, but why so beleaguered?
He's not a leader, he's a Texas leaguer
Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike
Drilling for fear makes the job simple
Born on third, thinks he got a triple
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way...
I remember when you sang that song about today
Now it's tomorrow and everything has changed
A think tank of aloof multiplication
A nicotine wish and a Columbus decanter
Retrenchment and hoggishness
The aristocrat choir sings, "what's the ruckus?"
The haves have not a clue
The immenseness of suffering
And the odd negotiation, a rarity
With onionskin plausibility of life
And a keyboard reaffirmation
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way through the city
Blackout weaves its way...
I remember when you sang that song about today
Now it's tomorrow and everything has changed
I remember when you sang that song about today
Now it's tomorrow and everything has changed
Changed, changed, chains, etc...
Lyrics submitted by Stephen_Flow
Bushleaguer [Album Version] Lyrics as written by Stone Gossard Eddie Vedder
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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This song could be about any bad leader... Bush, the leader of ICRWhale... it's essentially a revolution song with Eddie's very mature spin on it. Great song. I love the album version with the hard electric intro, the acoustic version they played across the Riot Act tour, and the melodic electric version they played on the 2006 tour. Always ilicits an interesting reaction from the crowd, in Uniondale NY in 2003, Eddie walked out wearing a Bush mask and stuck it on the microphone and through various parts of the song, stuck cigarettes in its mouth, poured wine down its throat, and French kissed it :P throughout the song, and afterwards, the crowd boo'ed and jeered the band, if you listen to the bootleg you can hear people going "fuck you asshole!" and "just play rock'n'roll!" and in the PJ20 movie Mike talks about how a firefighter in the pit kept showing Mike his badge. Afterwards the crowd started chanting "USA" and Eddie got into it with them, and followed it up with a cover of the Clash's "Know Your Rights" and later an impassioned version of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World". During the same tour they almost started a riot in Colorado, when some of the crowd thought Veddie Edder had impaled/hung the Bush mask on the mic stand.