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.
Well I met her in a bar
Like I always say
She was digging Tommy's cute
Way down in FLA
Wearing that vest with nothing underneath
Looking her best in the Florida heat
Sent a message to the boys
She was wearing that vest with nothing underneath
She be looking her best in the Florida heat, yeah
Sent a message to the boys
Well, she couldn't cut loose
With her mommy around
So she packed her pretty bags
Went to the run-away town
Used to call me late at night
Said she missed her little maid
I never asked twice how the bills got paid
She sent a message to the boys
Used to call me every night
Said she missed her little maid
Never ever asked twice how the bills got paid
Sent the message to the boys
She sent a message to the boys
She's gonna be there, if you need her
I can't forget her and her voice
And her voice
Was a lady to the end
Now to this I can attest
She knew how to move
Yeah, when she rock'n'rolled this
She sent a message to the boys
She's gonna be there, if you need her
I can't forget her and her voice
She sent a message to the boys
She sent a message to the boys
God, I miss her and her voice
She sent a message to the boys
She sent a message to the boys
Oh god, I miss her and her voice
Like I always say
She was digging Tommy's cute
Way down in FLA
Wearing that vest with nothing underneath
Looking her best in the Florida heat
Sent a message to the boys
She was wearing that vest with nothing underneath
She be looking her best in the Florida heat, yeah
Sent a message to the boys
Well, she couldn't cut loose
With her mommy around
So she packed her pretty bags
Went to the run-away town
Used to call me late at night
Said she missed her little maid
I never asked twice how the bills got paid
She sent a message to the boys
Used to call me every night
Said she missed her little maid
Never ever asked twice how the bills got paid
Sent the message to the boys
She sent a message to the boys
She's gonna be there, if you need her
I can't forget her and her voice
And her voice
Was a lady to the end
Now to this I can attest
She knew how to move
Yeah, when she rock'n'rolled this
She sent a message to the boys
She's gonna be there, if you need her
I can't forget her and her voice
She sent a message to the boys
She sent a message to the boys
God, I miss her and her voice
She sent a message to the boys
She sent a message to the boys
Oh god, I miss her and her voice
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Message to the Boys Lyrics as written by Paul Westerberg
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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This would have been better done by AC/DC. Really? An ode to a groupie by "the Replacements"? This is a useless song. Maybe there's just a little bit of that good Westerberg warmth and spirit in "I miss her and her voice." Since this is what the Replacements became, it was for the best that they stopped.