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 Jubilee Street there was a girl named Bee
She had a history, but she had no past
When they shut her down the Russians moved in
I am too scared, I'm too scared to even walk on past
She used to say
All those good people down on Jubilee Street
They ought to practice what they preach
Here they are to practice just what they preach
Those good people on Jubilee Street
And here I come up the hill
I'm pushing my wheel of love
I got love in my tummy and a tiny little pain
And a ten ton catastrophe on a sixty pound chain
And I'm pushing my wheel of love on Jubilee Street
Ah look at me now
The problem was she had a little black book
And my name was written on every page
Well a girl's gotta make ends meet
Even down Jubilee Street
I was out of place and time, and over the hill, and out of my mind
On Jubilee Street
I ought to practice what I preach
These days I go downtown in my tie and tails
I got a fetus on a leash
I am alone now, I am beyond recriminations
Curtains are shut, the furniture is gone
I'm transforming, I'm vibrating, I'm glowing
I'm flying, look at me now
I'm flying, look at me now
She had a history, but she had no past
When they shut her down the Russians moved in
I am too scared, I'm too scared to even walk on past
She used to say
All those good people down on Jubilee Street
They ought to practice what they preach
Here they are to practice just what they preach
Those good people on Jubilee Street
And here I come up the hill
I'm pushing my wheel of love
I got love in my tummy and a tiny little pain
And a ten ton catastrophe on a sixty pound chain
And I'm pushing my wheel of love on Jubilee Street
Ah look at me now
The problem was she had a little black book
And my name was written on every page
Well a girl's gotta make ends meet
Even down Jubilee Street
I was out of place and time, and over the hill, and out of my mind
On Jubilee Street
I ought to practice what I preach
These days I go downtown in my tie and tails
I got a fetus on a leash
I am alone now, I am beyond recriminations
Curtains are shut, the furniture is gone
I'm transforming, I'm vibrating, I'm glowing
I'm flying, look at me now
I'm flying, look at me now
Lyrics submitted by Elective Amnesia, edited by smallwonderrobot
Jubilee Street Lyrics as written by Warren Ellis Nicholas Edward Cave
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Mute Song Limited
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I was driving through Whitechapel the other day and turned into a road called "Jubilee Street". My partner raised the possibility that the song could actually be a reference to this street, as it's in the area where Jack the Ripper murdered prostitutes.
I did a brief Google search and found references to the history of the street, including a period where the "Russians moved in". Also, if you search for this street and Jack the Ripper, there are some links, especially to a suspect who attended the Jubilee Street Anarchist Club.
This theory fits with the "Tie and tails" vision, and Nick Cave has written about Jack the Ripper before, so is this a re-imagination? I can't find any other clues that it is, but thought I'd share what I have.