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.
I want to grab a stranger's hand and
Hold it as tightly as I can and
I will tell by their reaction
If they're like me or if I am crazy
When the lights of the city hit my
Eyes on the plane looking out the window
I am consumed by a comforting notion
That you are there and I am welcome
If our miles have added up to
A giant pile of distance that we
Cannot reach past, climb or conquer
Will you dig a tunnel to me?
Every move suspends an action
Any attempt to engage will push away
What you want becomes a magnet
Opposing poles, never meeting
Can you combine a friend and mother?
Can you blend a dad and brother?
Must we have to pick one or the other?
Will we know this or always wonder?
(Always wonder)
You can tell what you've done to me
To be seen in hell from your place in a tree
Always helping, ever loving
But will you always be above me?
I won't ignore nor will not forget
The kindness that's been done to me
You are the surest and safest bet that
I could ask for, so I'm asking
Soon we will be side by side the
Plane will land and the wings will glide
The bags in hand and the car will drive
Into you, I will arrive
By your side
By your side
Hold it as tightly as I can and
I will tell by their reaction
If they're like me or if I am crazy
When the lights of the city hit my
Eyes on the plane looking out the window
I am consumed by a comforting notion
That you are there and I am welcome
If our miles have added up to
A giant pile of distance that we
Cannot reach past, climb or conquer
Will you dig a tunnel to me?
Every move suspends an action
Any attempt to engage will push away
What you want becomes a magnet
Opposing poles, never meeting
Can you combine a friend and mother?
Can you blend a dad and brother?
Must we have to pick one or the other?
Will we know this or always wonder?
(Always wonder)
You can tell what you've done to me
To be seen in hell from your place in a tree
Always helping, ever loving
But will you always be above me?
I won't ignore nor will not forget
The kindness that's been done to me
You are the surest and safest bet that
I could ask for, so I'm asking
Soon we will be side by side the
Plane will land and the wings will glide
The bags in hand and the car will drive
Into you, I will arrive
By your side
By your side
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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.
This opens the beautiful 4 song set on Prairie Home Companion. I am too amazed to speak. The city lights are Detroit. The penultimate and third from the last stanza might be spoken either to the one loved or to the Christ, as love contains a conjunction or confusion of the beloved and the divine. The nursery rhyme rhythm is like that in Friends, here expressing the pathos of near breakdown in the collapse of love. A very nice piece, Thanx, Jack!