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.
Maria, Maria
Nosso filho está perto
Esta noite eu o vi em sonhos
Me chamando
Antes já o pressentia
Esta noite eu o vi de repente, vagamente
Maria, Maria
Maria, tenho medo que você não chegue a tempo
E ele apareça em meu quarto noturno
Com uma faca na mão
E um sorriso violento nos lábios
É preciso impedir que ele cresça longe de nós
E não nos reconheça
Maria, Maria
Não pense que estou louco
Nosso filho já nasceu
E se não tomarmos conhecimento
Como iremos saber
Que é a nossa carne que nos mata
Maria, Maria
Tente vê-lo chegando
A cabeleira vermelha
Como incêndio mais belo do que nós
Enquanto nós pensamos
Que ainda jaz na caixa de sapato
Não deixe nosso filho
Substituir o teu leite
Pelo leite das feras
Maria, Maria
Maria, não te iludas com pílulas ou outros métodos
Tarde demais para tais providências
Essa noite, Maria, essa noite ele gritou seu nome
Maria, Maria
Nosso filho está perto
Esta noite eu o vi em sonhos
Me chamando
Antes já o pressentia
Esta noite eu o vi de repente, vagamente
Maria, Maria
Maria, tenho medo que você não chegue a tempo
E ele apareça em meu quarto noturno
Com uma faca na mão
E um sorriso violento nos lábios
É preciso impedir que ele cresça longe de nós
E não nos reconheça
Maria, Maria
Não pense que estou louco
Nosso filho já nasceu
E se não tomarmos conhecimento
Como iremos saber
Que é a nossa carne que nos mata
Maria, Maria
Tente vê-lo chegando
A cabeleira vermelha
Como incêndio mais belo do que nós
Enquanto nós pensamos
Que ainda jaz na caixa de sapato
Não deixe nosso filho
Substituir o teu leite
Pelo leite das feras
Maria, Maria
Maria, não te iludas com pílulas ou outros métodos
Tarde demais para tais providências
Essa noite, Maria, essa noite ele gritou seu nome
Maria, Maria
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Maria, Maria Our son is close (nearby) Tonight I saw him in a dream Calling me I could notice him before Tonight I saw him suddenly, vaguely Maria, Maria Maria I'm afraid you won't make it in time That he appears in my nocturnal room With a knife in hand And a violent smile on his lips It's necessary to stop him from growing away from us And don't recognize us Maria, Maria Don't think I'm crazy Our son is already born And if we are not aware How will we know That our own flesh kills us Maria, Maria (Try even arriving red head of hair Like a conflagration more beautiful than us) While we think That lies yet Inside the shoebox Don't let our son Replace your milk With that of the beasts Maria, Maria Maria Don't delude yourself with pills or other methods Too late for providence Tonight, Maria, tonight he yelled your name Maria, Maria
And I was even more surprised that it actually happens to touch on one of my deepest fears, that if I had a baby it would be a possessed demon baby!
So the moral of my story is if there's ever a song you love in a different language that you don't understand, get it translated! It might just be about your fear of demon babies. :)