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.
Living in the night
'Neath heavens torn asunder
You call on me to solve a crooked rhyme
As I'm closing in
Imposing on your slumber
You call on me as bells begin to chime
Are you on the square?
Are you on the level?
Are you ready to swear right here, right now
Before the devil
That you're on the square
That you're on the level
That you're ready to stand right here, right now
Right here, right now
Hiding from the light
Sacrificing nothing
Still you call on me for entrance to the shrine
Hammering the nails
Into a sacred coffin
You call on me for powers clandestine
Are you on the square?
Are you on the level?
Are you ready to swear right here, right now
Before the devil
That you're on the square
That you're on the level
That you're ready to stand right here, right now
Right here, right now
Are you on the square?
Are you on the level?
Are you ready to swear right here, right now
Before the devil
That you're on the square
That you're on the level
That you're ready to stand right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
'Neath heavens torn asunder
You call on me to solve a crooked rhyme
As I'm closing in
Imposing on your slumber
You call on me as bells begin to chime
Are you on the square?
Are you on the level?
Are you ready to swear right here, right now
Before the devil
That you're on the square
That you're on the level
That you're ready to stand right here, right now
Right here, right now
Hiding from the light
Sacrificing nothing
Still you call on me for entrance to the shrine
Hammering the nails
Into a sacred coffin
You call on me for powers clandestine
Are you on the square?
Are you on the level?
Are you ready to swear right here, right now
Before the devil
That you're on the square
That you're on the level
That you're ready to stand right here, right now
Right here, right now
Are you on the square?
Are you on the level?
Are you ready to swear right here, right now
Before the devil
That you're on the square
That you're on the level
That you're ready to stand right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now
Lyrics submitted by Passenger146
Square Hammer Lyrics as written by A Ghoul Writer
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Ave Grave
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Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
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Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Fortnight
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
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Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
There's a lot of reference to Freemasonry in this song.
On the title, "Square Hammer":
"The Masonic gavel is an emblem of authority used by the Master of the lodge to show his executive power over the assemblage by punctuating its actions.
In this capacity, order is maintained and a structured outcome to the proceedings is achieved.
The common gavel is also one of the working tools of the Entered Apprentice.
Operative Gavel
In the operative stonemason era, the common gavel was a tool used to hew (break) the rough edges from the stones (ashlars) in order to perfectly fit them into place.
Speculative Gavel
In speculative Freemasonry, the Masonic Gavel is used to symbolically divest the heart and consciousness of all the vices and superfluities (excesses) of life in order to ready ourselves as if we were living stones, open to be shaped into a spiritual being that is pleasing to our Creator.
A True Masonic Gavel
What does a true Masonic gavel look like? The head of the gavel is rectangular, flat on one end and can be slightly pinched or come to a point on the other end."
Source: masonic-lodge-of-education.com/masonic-gavel.html
Now, onto the lyrics - more specifically, the line: "Are you on the square? Are you on the level? Are you ready to swear right here, right now"
If you look at the poetry of Rob Morris (who was a Freemason), his most famous poem was called "The Level and the Square"
This poem starts off with:
"We meet upon the Level, and we part upon the Square, What words of precious meaning those words Masonic are, Come let us contemplate them, they are worthy of our thought, With the highest and the lowest and the rarest they are fraught.
We meet upon the Level, though from every station come, The king from out his palace, and the poor man from his home; For the one must leave his diadem outside the mason's door, And the other finds his true respect upon the chequered floor."
Finally, an interesting insight by a Reddit user named killcokidd on the Ghost subreddit:
"On the Square - When a stonemason cuts a block to use in the construction of a building, it must be perfectly shaped so that it will support the other blocks that surround it. The block’s sides must all be perfectly straight with no faults, so that it will do its part as just one small piece of a much larger building. To check the reliability of his workmanship, the stonemason uses a tool called a square shaped like a right angle, to determine whether the sides and angles of the stone are perfect. Freemasons use the term "on the square" to describe their trust in each other. A man who is on the square is honest and reliable, and is a strong part of the whole community around him. The term is also used to mean “just between you and me.” When one Mason tells another Mason something he’d like to be kept private, he’ll often say “This is on the square.”
On the Level - To a Freemason, means just that — all Freemasons are Brothers who meet on the same level, regardless of their social or economic status outside the lodge. Princes, presidents, and captains of business are no better or more important than bus drivers, plumbers, and paper boys when they sit in the lodge together. Masonry does not detract from a man’s accomplishments, nor does it exalt him above his Brothers because of his position outside the lodge."
It seems Ghost is delving into the clandestine underworld of Freemasonry and satirising that establishment the same way they do to organised religions.
Intelligent, fascinating, and a kick-ass song.
@joe164 Actually, Tobias is a member of the Swedish freemasons. Ex-bandmates are trying to get an appeal because the judge that resided over original ruling was also a freemason of the Sweedish Rite. They claim that because of this, there was not an objective ruling. The status of Tobias and judge of being in the Sweedish Rite is not being challenged as it is acknowledged they both are. The issue is whether or not them both being in the same group is grounds for an impartial ruling. <br /> <br /> Here is the kicker. You have to absolutely be a Christian to be in the Sweedish Rite. Unlike other rites.