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 got to open your eyes in the morning
Nine o'clock comin' with out any warnin'
And you gotta get ready to go
You say you went out late last evenin'
Did a lot of drinkin'
Come home stinkin'
And you went and fell asleep on the floor
And then your lady comes and finds you asleepin'
Starts in to weepin' 'bout the hours you been keepin'
And you better get your ass out the door
Ain't no crime
Say everybody gets that way some time
Ain't no crime
You know it's good to get it on to get a load off your mind
Oh no, it ain't no crime. Oh.
You got to open your eyes in the morning
Nine o'clock comin' with out any warnin'
And you gotta get ready to go
Well now you tell me you love somebody
And you'll love 'em forever
You may love 'em forever
But you won't like 'em all of the time
Well now you tell me you need somebody for the rest of your life
You might have somebody
But you won't want 'em everyday
Ain't no crime
Say ev'rybody gets that way some time
Ain't no crime
Well it's just human nature
Happens all the time
Oh no, it ain't no crime. Oh
And just as surely as the wind keeps blowin'
The grass keeps growin'
You gotta keep goin'
And the Lord have mercy on your soul
La, la la la.
Nine o'clock comin' with out any warnin'
And you gotta get ready to go
You say you went out late last evenin'
Did a lot of drinkin'
Come home stinkin'
And you went and fell asleep on the floor
And then your lady comes and finds you asleepin'
Starts in to weepin' 'bout the hours you been keepin'
And you better get your ass out the door
Ain't no crime
Say everybody gets that way some time
Ain't no crime
You know it's good to get it on to get a load off your mind
Oh no, it ain't no crime. Oh.
You got to open your eyes in the morning
Nine o'clock comin' with out any warnin'
And you gotta get ready to go
Well now you tell me you love somebody
And you'll love 'em forever
You may love 'em forever
But you won't like 'em all of the time
Well now you tell me you need somebody for the rest of your life
You might have somebody
But you won't want 'em everyday
Ain't no crime
Say ev'rybody gets that way some time
Ain't no crime
Well it's just human nature
Happens all the time
Oh no, it ain't no crime. Oh
And just as surely as the wind keeps blowin'
The grass keeps growin'
You gotta keep goin'
And the Lord have mercy on your soul
La, la la la.
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I don't agree so much with the cheating notion. I think it just has to do more with needing to escape, to get fucked up. It's natural to feel the urge to escape the drudge of day-to-day life, is it not?
I agree. I don't hear cheating in the lyrics and songs about cheating are really not Joel's style.