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.
I hold this letter in my hand
A plea, a petition, a kind of prayer
I hope it does as I have planned
Losing her again is more than I can bear
I kiss the cold, white envelope
I press my lips against her name
Two hundred words
We live in hope
The sky hangs heavy with rain
Love Letter, love letter
Go get her, go get her
Love Letter, love letter
Go tell her, go tell her
A wicked wind whips up the hill
A handful of hopeful words
I love her and I always will
The sky is ready to burst
Said something I did not mean to say
Said something I did not mean to say
Said something I did not mean to say
It all came out the wrong way
Love Letter, love letter
Go get her, go get her
Love Letter, love letter
Go tell her, go tell her
Rain your kisses down upon me
Rain your kisses down in storms
And for all who'll come before me
In your slowly fading forms
I'm going out of my mind
Will leave me standing in
The rain with a letter and a prayer
Whispered on the wind
Come back to me
Come back to me
O baby please come back to me
A plea, a petition, a kind of prayer
I hope it does as I have planned
Losing her again is more than I can bear
I kiss the cold, white envelope
I press my lips against her name
Two hundred words
We live in hope
The sky hangs heavy with rain
Love Letter, love letter
Go get her, go get her
Love Letter, love letter
Go tell her, go tell her
A wicked wind whips up the hill
A handful of hopeful words
I love her and I always will
The sky is ready to burst
Said something I did not mean to say
Said something I did not mean to say
Said something I did not mean to say
It all came out the wrong way
Love Letter, love letter
Go get her, go get her
Love Letter, love letter
Go tell her, go tell her
Rain your kisses down upon me
Rain your kisses down in storms
And for all who'll come before me
In your slowly fading forms
I'm going out of my mind
Will leave me standing in
The rain with a letter and a prayer
Whispered on the wind
Come back to me
Come back to me
O baby please come back to me
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When the part that goes "rain your kisses down upon me, rain your kisses down in storms" comes in, I am filled with euphoria every time. Such a beautiful song. Tied with "Into My Arms" for my favorite Nick Cave love song, I think.
These exact few words, "rain your kisses down upon me, rain your kisses down in storms", make me shivering inside every time. There's something magic in there.