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.
Quiet the drone in the distance approaches we hide and hope they pass us by
Waiting in silence praying they don’t find us and maybe they’ll spare us our lives
Just maybe they’ll spare us our lives
Desolate village of sorrow and anguish I stare upon what once was home
Explosions and flashes leave embers and ashes and now I’ve got nowhere to go
And now we’ve got nowhere to go
Now as the fire reigns down from the sky I see the love disappear from her eyes
I’ve seen the hearts of our people all change like the wind a helping hand I cannot find
Hold on I’ll find a place to call our home nevermore will you cry together we’ll live on alone
Life or death we will not live forever or did you forget
Selflessness bereft you look the other way as we are left for dead
Gone are the days of the innocent child each day a curse watching her fading smile
You must be brave little sister I’ll swallow my pride whatever it takes to survive
Be strong the fireflies will light way never stop carry on you are the life in me today
Life or death we will not live forever or did you forget
Selflessness bereft you look the other way as we are left for dead
As the raid begins the blackened rain turns red a beautiful display of hatred
Nothing left beneath the flames are where my loved ones lay to rest
Sleep little one all your nightmares are gone rest in peace and be free of your pain
For you I will fight one more day
Echoes of your voice repeatedly tormenting reminds me of my mistakes
How do I live with myself my conscience says I sent you to an early grave
Have I sent you to an early grave
Mother and father will dry your eyes now that you sleep with the fireflies (x2)
Waiting in silence praying they don’t find us and maybe they’ll spare us our lives
Just maybe they’ll spare us our lives
Desolate village of sorrow and anguish I stare upon what once was home
Explosions and flashes leave embers and ashes and now I’ve got nowhere to go
And now we’ve got nowhere to go
Now as the fire reigns down from the sky I see the love disappear from her eyes
I’ve seen the hearts of our people all change like the wind a helping hand I cannot find
Hold on I’ll find a place to call our home nevermore will you cry together we’ll live on alone
Life or death we will not live forever or did you forget
Selflessness bereft you look the other way as we are left for dead
Gone are the days of the innocent child each day a curse watching her fading smile
You must be brave little sister I’ll swallow my pride whatever it takes to survive
Be strong the fireflies will light way never stop carry on you are the life in me today
Life or death we will not live forever or did you forget
Selflessness bereft you look the other way as we are left for dead
As the raid begins the blackened rain turns red a beautiful display of hatred
Nothing left beneath the flames are where my loved ones lay to rest
Sleep little one all your nightmares are gone rest in peace and be free of your pain
For you I will fight one more day
Echoes of your voice repeatedly tormenting reminds me of my mistakes
How do I live with myself my conscience says I sent you to an early grave
Have I sent you to an early grave
Mother and father will dry your eyes now that you sleep with the fireflies (x2)
Lyrics submitted by EternalTearsOfSorrow
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A song written about a story, a pseudo-autobiography, of the same name, originally written by Akiyuki Nosaka, a survivor of the Kobe Fire Bombing, and adapted by Studio Ghibli into one of its most well-known films, again of the same name. Notably, the story covers tragedy, in which he lost his younger sister to sickness, his adoptive father to the fire bombing, and his younger adoptive sister, Keiko, to malnutrition. The story was written as an apology to Keiko, regarding her passing.