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.
Baby, when I first saw you,
I knew you held the keys to my heart,
And in the setting sun we flew away
To a broken kind of paradise
Where time would stand still.
You are the black sky
Always running from the sun.
Paralyzed, I dug a well deep inside.
I kissed the tide,
You held the moon
And carried the stars
Like life was a memory
And death just a possibility.
You are the black sky
Always running from the sun.
You're always running from the sun.
I knew you held the keys to my heart,
And in the setting sun we flew away
To a broken kind of paradise
Where time would stand still.
You are the black sky
Always running from the sun.
Paralyzed, I dug a well deep inside.
I kissed the tide,
You held the moon
And carried the stars
Like life was a memory
And death just a possibility.
You are the black sky
Always running from the sun.
You're always running from the sun.
Lyrics submitted by LudwigRichter
Birds of Paradise Lyrics as written by John Padgett Adam Miller
Lyrics © ITALIANS DO IT BETTER INTERNATIONAL
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My favorite on Kill for Love. Uniquely utilizes that same kind of lush sadness that pervades the entire album.