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.
Here again the chords clash
Again the half-past
Carrie nation cut glass
Children of the have-caste
Across a dark barlack of concentration camp of self-harm
Feel again the Dr. Bronner sermon on the soap jar
Open as a bank vault
Focused on a passed fault
Not-named Lot's craned neck-salt
Another clay mouse thrown into a potter's house
Bait-and-switch hell pitch, Dutch blitz
Venus of the gem state
Cleaners of a blank slate
Of metamorphic straight-laced
Latter-day saint-faced, speed it up a knot
Feed, meat, no, milk, no
Paper cow, may it be so
Living cow, make it so
Low in the burst of a red dwarf star
No one on earth will know who we are
Blue ribbon pigs in a 4-H show
No one on earth must know
Quiet as the church-top lead roof thieves
No one on earth must know
Custer in his stone-drunk Bighorns rolled up
Juliet shirtsleeves, no one on earth must know
No one on earth must know
Counter-terror prophet in a watermelon ascot
Coriander manna in the mortar of a joke
C.I.A. beneath a Coatsville farm with incorruptible charm
We leaned ephemeral bones on everlasting arms
Four-behavior frontal lobe, a universal product code
Of iridescent Joseph coat hallucination H-show
Low in the hearse after Red Cloud's war
No one on earth will know who we were
Buried Beds of regrets at the eight-straight-buffalo show
No one on earth must know
What have I to dread, what have I to fear?
Leaning on the everlasting arms
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near
Leaning on the everlasting arms
O, how bright the path grows from day to day
Leaning on the everlasting arms
Again the half-past
Carrie nation cut glass
Children of the have-caste
Across a dark barlack of concentration camp of self-harm
Feel again the Dr. Bronner sermon on the soap jar
Open as a bank vault
Focused on a passed fault
Not-named Lot's craned neck-salt
Another clay mouse thrown into a potter's house
Bait-and-switch hell pitch, Dutch blitz
Venus of the gem state
Cleaners of a blank slate
Of metamorphic straight-laced
Latter-day saint-faced, speed it up a knot
Feed, meat, no, milk, no
Paper cow, may it be so
Living cow, make it so
Low in the burst of a red dwarf star
No one on earth will know who we are
Blue ribbon pigs in a 4-H show
No one on earth must know
Quiet as the church-top lead roof thieves
No one on earth must know
Custer in his stone-drunk Bighorns rolled up
Juliet shirtsleeves, no one on earth must know
No one on earth must know
Counter-terror prophet in a watermelon ascot
Coriander manna in the mortar of a joke
C.I.A. beneath a Coatsville farm with incorruptible charm
We leaned ephemeral bones on everlasting arms
Four-behavior frontal lobe, a universal product code
Of iridescent Joseph coat hallucination H-show
Low in the hearse after Red Cloud's war
No one on earth will know who we were
Buried Beds of regrets at the eight-straight-buffalo show
No one on earth must know
What have I to dread, what have I to fear?
Leaning on the everlasting arms
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near
Leaning on the everlasting arms
O, how bright the path grows from day to day
Leaning on the everlasting arms
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher, edited by japanjeff
Watermelon Ascot Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © TERRORBIRD PUBLISHING LLC
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A few notes that I got from this song. I believe this song is using really nice imagery and references to simply convey where vocalist Aaron Weiss feels the band is now. A lot of these lines or sections are mostly mimicking Aaron's style of lyrics, fast delivery with catchy words, but there is a basic underlying message of the new way Aaron is going to write and play.:
"Again the half-past: referring to starting another album, like the line that proceeds it. Half-past would be 30 minutes, typical approximate length of an LP.
"Another clay mouse thrown into the Potters House": could be a reference again to Aaron crafting the album. The lyrics, songs, album (clay mouse) are being crated by Aaron (the Potter) his mind where they come from (the house).
The Bait and Switch to Dutch Blitz connection is probably that of his earlier songs being mostly about god/God/G-d/Allah/ect and death and heaven. Aaron has said he doesn't have confidence that he is qualified to speak on those things anymore. Those earlier albums that we all bought were, now in his mind, a bait and switch. We paid for those albums thinking we were listening to the thoughts and beliefs of a man who was qualified to talk about those things and make us feel something, the hell pitch, but he doesn't think he was anymore.
Venus of a Gem State: The songs are going to be about things he feels more qualified to speak on. Venus of the Gem State is an allusion to his wife. Venus, the god of love and beauty, being his wife, the Gem State being Idaho, where his wife is from.
Cleaners of a blank slate: New album, new songs, new lyrics. Aaron isn't going to sing about anything definitive anymore.
Metamorphic straight-laced: In marriage, Aaron has change from his previously celibate life-style.
Latter-Day Saint face: I'm going to go out on a limb and assume his wife or his wife's family and friends are probably Mormons since Idaho has a sizable population being a border state to Utah.
Feed meat and milk: probably a reference to Aaron's interactions with his wife's family during meetings and holidays. Aaron is known to be a vegan and probably came up during dinner if he'd like X or Y to eat or drink.
May it be so. Make it so!: The battle between what Aaron wants internally (paper cow) and what Aaron does (living cow). Whether that be how he does the album, his marriage, or other aspirations.
Red Dwarfstar: The album, bands career, etc., are making an album in the "low" of the explosion. Probably referencing how people are going to compare this album to Ten Stories, Brother, Sister, or CFUTF.
Blue ribbon pigs in a 4-H show: The band tours and parades around on stage like show animals to be judged by the crowd.
Quiet as the church-top lead roof thieves: Aaron tries to be outside the public eye but is brought back into societal interactions because of the band.
Custer in his...Juliet shirtsleeves: Reference to Aaron (Custer) having the feeling of never wanting to do another album after each one is released (stone-drunk at the Battle of Bighorn) and his thrift-shop dumper-found clothes (juliet shirtsleeves).
Counter-terror prophet...watermelon ascot: Aaron (counter-terror prophet) singing about the end of the world again being known for his poor/ugly dress by society at large (watermelon ascot).
[I'm gonna skip to some other lines now]
4-behavior-...H show: Again, a call back to the earlier line about the 4-H show. This time Aaron being a little more detailed. Aaron and the band feel like these animals behaving a certain way on stage or with fans while a part of the band (behavior-frontal-lobe). Their albums, their shows, their band is sold like the branded animals at the 4-H shows (Universal-product-code). The band plays songs dealing with religious themes as told through animals, like ones at the 4-H show, that have colors assigned to them like Red Cow, Blue Hen, and all other animals told with Aaron's imagination and word play lyrics from all their past albums (iridescent-Joseph-coat-hullicination)
This could be me just grasping, but that's what I'm getting out of this song. Not such a deep meaning, but again, Aaron said he's singing about stuff only he feels qualified to sing about, personal experiences and relationships and his thoughts and fears pretty much exclusively. This particular song is about his experiences and his view of the band past and present.