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.
Words of the righteous
We will not bend
The odds keep stacking up against
Strengthen our self endurance
Break down the cycle
Of errors past
We have to face up to the truth
Relinquish every grudge or bruise
Every ounce of strength grasps
One solid dream
Violent soul
Will be whole
We have to face up to it
For every second we're alive
Let our light shine
To our grave, we must pave
A path for us to rise from
Power surge, kills the urge
Life and death collide
Smash all the boundaries
That hold us down
Hold on to everything that loves
Let go of anything that starves
People with envy will hold us down
Freedom is just a cut away
Nothing can pass our life away
Every ounce of strength grasps
One solid dream
Violent soul
Will be whole
We have to face up to it
For every second we're alive
Let our light shine bright
To our grave, we must pave
A path for us to rise from
Power surge, kills the urge
Life and death collide
We take life's ebb and flow
Testament to the things we know
With the fight, we must roll
Strength will follow
Tooth and nail for the ground that we hold
Failures from the start but we still grow
Heads held high, rally for throne
Holding our own
Not just words we'll show you so
I can't remember
These doubts I must dismember
And trust in whole
Follow your own lightness
Follow your sound
Believe in me
'Cause I believe in you
We will not bend
The odds keep stacking up against
Strengthen our self endurance
Break down the cycle
Of errors past
We have to face up to the truth
Relinquish every grudge or bruise
Every ounce of strength grasps
One solid dream
Violent soul
Will be whole
We have to face up to it
For every second we're alive
Let our light shine
To our grave, we must pave
A path for us to rise from
Power surge, kills the urge
Life and death collide
Smash all the boundaries
That hold us down
Hold on to everything that loves
Let go of anything that starves
People with envy will hold us down
Freedom is just a cut away
Nothing can pass our life away
Every ounce of strength grasps
One solid dream
Violent soul
Will be whole
We have to face up to it
For every second we're alive
Let our light shine bright
To our grave, we must pave
A path for us to rise from
Power surge, kills the urge
Life and death collide
We take life's ebb and flow
Testament to the things we know
With the fight, we must roll
Strength will follow
Tooth and nail for the ground that we hold
Failures from the start but we still grow
Heads held high, rally for throne
Holding our own
Not just words we'll show you so
I can't remember
These doubts I must dismember
And trust in whole
Follow your own lightness
Follow your sound
Believe in me
'Cause I believe in you
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Agree with @Metalhead88 in that this song speaks to me on the level of choosing your own path in life, being yourself and making your own choices (which of course mean you must be responsible for mistakes too).
Not one of my favoured tracks on Through the Ashes of the Empire album, but nonetheless a solid track and has a very positive and thought out meaning.