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.
Have you seen my hands?
Just look at 'em shake
And the song just keeps on repeating
Drop the needle again
And I danced with your ghost
Oh, but that ain't the way
I can't move on and I can't stay the same
And all my friends say:
"Hey, turn the record over
Hey, I'll see you on the flip-side
There you go, turn the key and engine over
Let her go, let somebody else lay at her feet"
But have you seen my heart?
Have you seen how it bleeds?
And the nights are so long baby
Out here in the deep
The tick-ticking of hours, lonely
I hear the alarm
I used to hear when she would sleep in my arms
But "better sense" says:
"Hey, turn the record over
Hey, I'll see you on the flip-side
There you go, turn the key and engine over
Let her go, let somebody else lay at her feet"
And all my friends say:
"Hey, turn the record over
Hey, I'll see you on the flip-side
There you go, turn the key and engine over
Let her go, let somebody else lay at my feet"
Where you used to be
Where you used to be
Where you used to be
Here with me
Just look at 'em shake
And the song just keeps on repeating
Drop the needle again
And I danced with your ghost
Oh, but that ain't the way
I can't move on and I can't stay the same
And all my friends say:
"Hey, turn the record over
Hey, I'll see you on the flip-side
There you go, turn the key and engine over
Let her go, let somebody else lay at her feet"
But have you seen my heart?
Have you seen how it bleeds?
And the nights are so long baby
Out here in the deep
The tick-ticking of hours, lonely
I hear the alarm
I used to hear when she would sleep in my arms
But "better sense" says:
"Hey, turn the record over
Hey, I'll see you on the flip-side
There you go, turn the key and engine over
Let her go, let somebody else lay at her feet"
And all my friends say:
"Hey, turn the record over
Hey, I'll see you on the flip-side
There you go, turn the key and engine over
Let her go, let somebody else lay at my feet"
Where you used to be
Where you used to be
Where you used to be
Here with me
Lyrics submitted by llscience
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Long live The Gaslight Anthem.
They seem to want to be the last Rock N' Roll Band left standing on Earth, and from this song I believe they could be. The energy and emotion of this song is amazing, so palpable. The character of the guitar work reminds me of "Hey Jealousy"; the hook, just as memorable.
The content is a tired old story about trying to let go of a girl, but it still comes alive through the fine musicianship. (Some things never get old.)
The whole idea of dropping a needle on a 45 record draws on the past, then changing it up by playing the flip-side. So the title also complements the message, turning over a new leaf...
...or something seething underneath the surface.
Hey jealousy is probably my favorite song ever and Gaslight is my favorite band ever. This could really be their "hey jealousy", that truth we all know of wanting something that is already gone.