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.
Child: "Mommy! Daddy...Mommy! Daddy!... Mom? Dad?"
Man: "You have no mother or father."
Child: "Yeah I do!"
Man: "No, they left; they went somewhere else."
Child: "No, you're right here! I do!"
Man: "I'm not; I don't know you."
Child: "Daddy … "
Man: "Don't touch me; don't call me that in public."
Man: "You have no mother or father."
Child: "Yeah I do!"
Man: "No, they left; they went somewhere else."
Child: "No, you're right here! I do!"
Man: "I'm not; I don't know you."
Child: "Daddy … "
Man: "Don't touch me; don't call me that in public."
Lyrics submitted by DJelectricaltape
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Turns out the sample was a legit conversation o.O Here's an excerpt from an interview The Books did with Pitchfork (pitchfork.com/features/interviews/5920-the-books/)
NICK: [...] What's a good example… like, "Motherless Bastard"-- that sample is one I recorded myself when I was in the Aquarium of the Pacific in Los Angeles.
PITCHFORK: Wow, that's an actual person? NICK: Yeah, they had this great jellyfish exhibit, these Portuguese Man-of-Wars just floating, and next to me was that conversation. I didn't pay much attention to it but then I heard it at home later, and it was just…it kind of sets a tone.
PITCHFORK: That's amazing that that’s a real conversation. It's laid out in such a way that I always figured it was from a movie. NICK: It's funny, stuff like that happens all the time. The more you have your recording equipment on, the more stuff like that you're going to get.
@tgbrow Looks like the URL for that interview was deprecated. Here's the current one: pitchfork.com/features/interview/5920-the-books/
Shit, messed it up again lol. This is the real deal: pitchfork.com/features/interview/5920-the-books/
@tgbrow Ahh, nevermind. Turns out SongMeanings' hyperlink generation is busted. It leaves out the colon after "http". Anyhow, copy and paste the link manually to get to the interview.