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 feel the anguish
I feel the hate
I feel your touch
It's getting late
Arbeit was machst du da
Arbeit was machst du da
I feel you presence
You're cold to me
Final inception
A trap for me
I am in your clutches
Just set me free
You drive a nail
Inside of me
This skill is yours
I feel this pain
You make this mortal insane
This could be the end of your life
This could be the end of your fight
I feel your breath
Your cold desire
I feel your hand
I feel the fire
No more control
In my mind
Final solution
We're driving blind
Arbeit was machst du da
Arbeit was machst du da
This could be the end of your life
This could be the end of your fight
No more communication
The lines are down
There's no resistance
They've all gone underground
Humanity is solvent
As warlords rule the Earth
Just one final message
Humans ruined the Earth
I feel the hate
I feel your touch
It's getting late
Arbeit was machst du da
Arbeit was machst du da
I feel you presence
You're cold to me
Final inception
A trap for me
I am in your clutches
Just set me free
You drive a nail
Inside of me
This skill is yours
I feel this pain
You make this mortal insane
This could be the end of your life
This could be the end of your fight
I feel your breath
Your cold desire
I feel your hand
I feel the fire
No more control
In my mind
Final solution
We're driving blind
Arbeit was machst du da
Arbeit was machst du da
This could be the end of your life
This could be the end of your fight
No more communication
The lines are down
There's no resistance
They've all gone underground
Humanity is solvent
As warlords rule the Earth
Just one final message
Humans ruined the Earth
Lyrics submitted by EternalTearsOfSorrow
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This song is a essentially warning about how humans are destroying the earth (either directly or indirectly) on a global scale in ways such as population growth, overconsumption, overexploitation, pollution, and deforestation, to name but a few. The chorus; Arbeit was machst du da (which is German) translates to "work what are you doing here'.