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.
Lost my shape
Trying to act casual
Can't stop
I might end up in the hospital
Changing my shape
I feel like an accident
They're back
To explain their experience
Isn't it weird?
Looks too obscure to me
Wasting away
And that was their policy
I'm ready to leave
I push the fact in front of me
Facts lost
Facts are never what they seem to be
Nothing there
No information left of any kind
Lifting my head
Looking for the danger signs
There was a line
There was a formula
Sharp as a knife
Facts cut a hole in us
There was a line
There was a formula
Sharp as a knife
Facts cut a hole in us
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
The feeling returns
Whenever we close our eyes
Lifting my head
Looking around inside
The island of doubt
Is like the taste of medicine
Working by hindsight
Got the message from the oxygen
Making a list
Find the cost of opportunity
Doing it right
Facts are useless in emergencies
The feeling returns
Whenever we close our eyes
Lifting my head
Looking around inside
Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Trying to act casual
Can't stop
I might end up in the hospital
Changing my shape
I feel like an accident
They're back
To explain their experience
Isn't it weird?
Looks too obscure to me
Wasting away
And that was their policy
I'm ready to leave
I push the fact in front of me
Facts lost
Facts are never what they seem to be
Nothing there
No information left of any kind
Lifting my head
Looking for the danger signs
There was a line
There was a formula
Sharp as a knife
Facts cut a hole in us
There was a line
There was a formula
Sharp as a knife
Facts cut a hole in us
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
The feeling returns
Whenever we close our eyes
Lifting my head
Looking around inside
The island of doubt
Is like the taste of medicine
Working by hindsight
Got the message from the oxygen
Making a list
Find the cost of opportunity
Doing it right
Facts are useless in emergencies
The feeling returns
Whenever we close our eyes
Lifting my head
Looking around inside
Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
Still waiting, still waiting, still waiting, still waiting
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It seems that this song makes more sense today than ever before. "Facts just twist the truth around." Look at all the facts Dick Cheney pulled out during the 2004 debates. He had more facts than Edwards, but Truth lies in the interpretation of the facts.