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.
You have a heart and I have a key
Lie back and let me unlock you
Those heathens you hang with down by the sea
All they want to do is defrock you
I know a river, where we can dream
It will swell up, burst it's banks,
babe, and rock you
But if you're gonna dine with them cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten
But I'm glad you've come around
here with your animals
And your heart that is bruised but unbeaten
And beating like a drum
I will sit like a bird on a fence
Sing you songs with a happy ending
Swoop down and tell you that it don't make sense
To attack the very thing you're defending
Didn't I just buy that dress for you?
That pink paper pinafore that you keep mending
Well, if you're gonna dine with the cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten
But I'm glad you've come around
here with your animals
And your heart that is banging and beating
And banging like a gong
I can see that they've hurt you, dear
Here is some moonlight to cloak us
And I will never desert you here
Unpetaled among the crocus
Allow me, my love, to allay your fear
As I swim, in and out of focus
But if you're gonna dine with the cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten
But I'm glad you've come around
here with your animals
And your heart that is bruised but bleating
And bleeding like a lamb
Banging like a gong
Beating like a drum
Lie back and let me unlock you
Those heathens you hang with down by the sea
All they want to do is defrock you
I know a river, where we can dream
It will swell up, burst it's banks,
babe, and rock you
But if you're gonna dine with them cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten
But I'm glad you've come around
here with your animals
And your heart that is bruised but unbeaten
And beating like a drum
I will sit like a bird on a fence
Sing you songs with a happy ending
Swoop down and tell you that it don't make sense
To attack the very thing you're defending
Didn't I just buy that dress for you?
That pink paper pinafore that you keep mending
Well, if you're gonna dine with the cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten
But I'm glad you've come around
here with your animals
And your heart that is banging and beating
And banging like a gong
I can see that they've hurt you, dear
Here is some moonlight to cloak us
And I will never desert you here
Unpetaled among the crocus
Allow me, my love, to allay your fear
As I swim, in and out of focus
But if you're gonna dine with the cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten
But I'm glad you've come around
here with your animals
And your heart that is bruised but bleating
And bleeding like a lamb
Banging like a gong
Beating like a drum
Lyrics submitted by littleRoom
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I agree with funnysmartname's interpretation. The narrator is telling the (female) listener: "If you keep hanging around with those people, you're going to get hurt eventually. But I'm still glad you're here with me right now."
There is also some suggestion that the narrator himself is not much different than the others. In the first verse, he warns the listener that "Those heathens you hang with down by the sea / All they want to do is defrock you", i.e. that the "cannibals" just care about sex. However, he has just told the girl (in the previous line) to "Lie back and let me unlock you", indicating that he is probably interested in the same thing. The narrator attempts to set himself apart by indicating that he cares for her in some deeper way ("I will never desert you here"), while the others just want to use her for their own satisfaction (this is what the metaphor of "get[ting] eaten" refers to).