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.
When the summer fails us
And the rains it rains so hard, oh
And when the rivers overflow
And a wave runs over Prague
Poison the waters so that only G.M. crops grow
Five corporations earn more than forty-six nations
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Corruption at the highest levels
Man made hell and a man made devil
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Behind a coat of arms the jewels of gilded lies know
The crown prepare the sacrifice
And she prepares to die, oh
Radiant and beautiful, she's taken in her prime, oh
Oh, executioner atone for all your crimes now
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Five corporations earn more than forty-six nations
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Corruption at the highest levels
Man made hell and a man made devil
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Rulers seek fossil fuel
As the poor still eat their stools
And watch the thunder flash
Unleashed for oil and gas, oh
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Five corporations earn more than forty-six nations
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Corruption at the highest levels
Man made hell and a man made devil
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Jacques De Molay turns in his grave
As Cecil Rhodes rides out again
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
And the rains it rains so hard, oh
And when the rivers overflow
And a wave runs over Prague
Poison the waters so that only G.M. crops grow
Five corporations earn more than forty-six nations
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Corruption at the highest levels
Man made hell and a man made devil
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Behind a coat of arms the jewels of gilded lies know
The crown prepare the sacrifice
And she prepares to die, oh
Radiant and beautiful, she's taken in her prime, oh
Oh, executioner atone for all your crimes now
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Five corporations earn more than forty-six nations
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Corruption at the highest levels
Man made hell and a man made devil
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Rulers seek fossil fuel
As the poor still eat their stools
And watch the thunder flash
Unleashed for oil and gas, oh
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Send horrors through your soul
And when it happens then you'll know
Five corporations earn more than forty-six nations
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Corruption at the highest levels
Man made hell and a man made devil
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
Jacques De Molay turns in his grave
As Cecil Rhodes rides out again
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
You've got blood on your hands
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Ave Grave
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The Spy
Doors, The
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Fast Car
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Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_de_Molay
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Rhodes
Not that this song was hard to understand without these references, especially with the first two lines of the chorus, but there ya go!
Oh, yeah...<br /> <br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rhodes_Colossus<br /> <br /> ...this was kind of a big deal back then.