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.
Burn it down 'til the embers smoke on the ground
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue
Home's face
How it ages when you're away
And spring blooms and you find a love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
'Cause the chase is all you know and she stopped running months ago
And all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
And out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
But you shed not a single tear
For the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free
'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
And there on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue
Home's face
How it ages when you're away
And spring blooms and you find a love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
'Cause the chase is all you know and she stopped running months ago
And all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
And out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
But you shed not a single tear
For the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free
'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
And there on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
Lyrics submitted by josephRaymond
Your Heart Is an Empty Room [DVD] Lyrics as written by Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is pretty self-explanatory. It's about a guy who thought he was in love with a girl, but really he was just enjoying the thrill of the chase. So now that he has her, he's bored in the relationship. The relationship is so lifeless that he might as well be single (which is why he sees "so many possibilities to not be alone). Every time a girl passes him by on the street, he imagines what his life would be like if he was with her instead (even for a casual sexual encounter). When the relationship finally ends, he realizes he wasn't attached to his girlfriend after all, so he "shed[s] not a single tear".
I love this song. It's an emotionally wrenching portrayal of a boring, unfulfilling relationship, one that will deeply resonate if you've ever been in this guy's position.
Okay I had to make an account specifically for this song and your comment. I was drawn to this song because I think it says exactly everything you have explained, but also because I have had two relationships in a row that ended that way for me which is why I draw the same conclusion to the song. But it is literally the only song that literally applied to me in every way which is crazy to me, although I know I'm not the only one to go through something like that, its just not often that you hear a song that completely applies to you. So I know you wrote this comment almost three years ago but I came to this site looking for somebody (you) to post this same thought, and I just had to reply to reply.