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.
Light struck from the lemon tree
What if I'd never seen hysterical light from Eugene?
Lemon yogurt, remember I pulled at your shirt
I dropped the ashtray on the floor
I just wanted to be near you
Emerald Park, wonders never cease
The man who taught me to swim, he couldn't quite say my first name
Like a Father he led community water on my head
And he called me "Subaru"
And now I want to be near you
Since I was old enough to speak I've said it with alarm
Some part of me was lost in your sleeve
Where you hid your cigarettes
No I'll never forget
I just want to be near you
Still I pray to what I cannot see
In the sprinkler I mark the evidence known from the start
From the bed near your death, and all the machines that made a mess
Far away the falcon flew
Now I want to be near you
What's left is only bittersweet
For the rest of my life, admitting the best is behind me
Now I'm drunk and afraid, wishing the world would go away
What's the point of singing songs
If they'll never even hear you?
What if I'd never seen hysterical light from Eugene?
Lemon yogurt, remember I pulled at your shirt
I dropped the ashtray on the floor
I just wanted to be near you
Emerald Park, wonders never cease
The man who taught me to swim, he couldn't quite say my first name
Like a Father he led community water on my head
And he called me "Subaru"
And now I want to be near you
Since I was old enough to speak I've said it with alarm
Some part of me was lost in your sleeve
Where you hid your cigarettes
No I'll never forget
I just want to be near you
Still I pray to what I cannot see
In the sprinkler I mark the evidence known from the start
From the bed near your death, and all the machines that made a mess
Far away the falcon flew
Now I want to be near you
What's left is only bittersweet
For the rest of my life, admitting the best is behind me
Now I'm drunk and afraid, wishing the world would go away
What's the point of singing songs
If they'll never even hear you?
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Eugene Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The song is about his childhood and his want/need to be near his mother, who never really pays enough attention to him. He remembers incidents fondly, but each is overshadows by the need/want to simply be near his mother.