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.
On a winter's Sunday I go
To clear away the snow
And green the ground below
April all an ocean away
Is this a better way to spend the day?
Keeping the winter at bay
What were the words I meant to say
Before you left
When I could see your breath lead
Where you were going to
Maybe I should just let it be
And maybe it will all come back to me
Seeing, oh, January, oh
How I lived a childhood in the snow
And all my teens in tow
Stuffed in strata of clothes
Hail the winter days after dark
Wandering the gray memorial park
A fleeting beating of hearts
What were the words I meant to say
Before she left
When I could see her breath lead
Where she was going to
Maybe I should just let it be
And maybe it will all come back to me
Seeing, oh, Janu...
Oh, January, oh
To clear away the snow
And green the ground below
April all an ocean away
Is this a better way to spend the day?
Keeping the winter at bay
What were the words I meant to say
Before you left
When I could see your breath lead
Where you were going to
Maybe I should just let it be
And maybe it will all come back to me
Seeing, oh, January, oh
How I lived a childhood in the snow
And all my teens in tow
Stuffed in strata of clothes
Hail the winter days after dark
Wandering the gray memorial park
A fleeting beating of hearts
What were the words I meant to say
Before she left
When I could see her breath lead
Where she was going to
Maybe I should just let it be
And maybe it will all come back to me
Seeing, oh, Janu...
Oh, January, oh
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The line "where you are going to" and the accompanying melody seem really familiar. Is this a tribute to another song? I'm pretty sure it is but I can't put my finger on it and it's driving me nuts
I think it's "Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan - the bit with the "I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to"