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.
She painted a bullseye on my mind
No matter how I moved, her aim was never high
I guess that was what I needed at the time
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
She was heavy, on the back beat
She played me just like a tambourine
Well, she took me to church, prayed till it hurt
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
I'll live to love another one more time, a good woman is hard to find
She was a helluva woman, from a helluva town
She took me all the way, it was a long way down
She makes me wonder, wonder, all day long
Can a good woman ever be found?
Can a good woman never be found?
She was beaty and adventure
She seemed so glad to be alive
I want to be happy, but not all the time
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
I'll live to love another one more time, a good woman is hard to find
She wrapped me up, saved me for later
Left me no way to penetrate her
Guess that was what I needed at the time
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
I'll live to love another one more time, a good woman is hard to find
No matter how I moved, her aim was never high
I guess that was what I needed at the time
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
She was heavy, on the back beat
She played me just like a tambourine
Well, she took me to church, prayed till it hurt
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
I'll live to love another one more time, a good woman is hard to find
She was a helluva woman, from a helluva town
She took me all the way, it was a long way down
She makes me wonder, wonder, all day long
Can a good woman ever be found?
Can a good woman never be found?
She was beaty and adventure
She seemed so glad to be alive
I want to be happy, but not all the time
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
I'll live to love another one more time, a good woman is hard to find
She wrapped me up, saved me for later
Left me no way to penetrate her
Guess that was what I needed at the time
A good woman is hard to find, a good woman is hard to find
I'll live to love another one more time, a good woman is hard to find
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Pretty sure the title is a reference to Flannery O’Connor - A Good Man Is Hard To Find
(See also PJ Harvey’s Is This Desire album, with multiple songs that make a reference to stories from this book)