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 can tell Gayle, if she calls,
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs.
And even if that's a lie, she should've given me a try.
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school.
I would've been her fool.
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls.
You tell that to Gayle, if she calls.
And you can tell Jane, if she writes,
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights.
And that's a total deceit, but she should've married me.
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor,
Bleeding out from all these wounds.
I would've gotten her a ride out of that town she despised.
You tell that to Janey, if she writes.
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That will cut you to ribbons sometimes.
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do.
You remind Anna, if she asks why,
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind.
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool,
Goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue.
But I used to wait at the diner, a million nights without her,
Praying she won't cancel again tonight.
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh.
You remind Anna, if she asks why.
Tell her it's all right.
You know it's hard to tell you this.
Oh it's hard to tell you this.
Here's looking at you, Kid.
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs.
And even if that's a lie, she should've given me a try.
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school.
I would've been her fool.
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls.
You tell that to Gayle, if she calls.
And you can tell Jane, if she writes,
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights.
And that's a total deceit, but she should've married me.
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor,
Bleeding out from all these wounds.
I would've gotten her a ride out of that town she despised.
You tell that to Janey, if she writes.
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That will cut you to ribbons sometimes.
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do.
You remind Anna, if she asks why,
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind.
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool,
Goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue.
But I used to wait at the diner, a million nights without her,
Praying she won't cancel again tonight.
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh.
You remind Anna, if she asks why.
Tell her it's all right.
You know it's hard to tell you this.
Oh it's hard to tell you this.
Here's looking at you, Kid.
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Love this song. It's like such a thing all guys go through. You fall in love in middle school, in high school, in college. and if you're lucky, like me, you wind up with the girl you were meant for all along. You treat her like a princess then you get to say to the other girls: "This is what you missed out on, and you know what, I'm not even bitter and heartbroken because I found the you that wasn't you that I'd been waiting for all along. Hope you're having fun without me." It's like a fuck-you song without any anger. Think of all the girls listening that could have been with a dude like Brian Fallon and are now with some schmuck/ he stuck it to them, and not even in a mean way.