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.
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Die, die, die, yeah
Radical rather than rhetorical
Babble like an oracle
Why am I always in your debt?
Father and the son and the holy ghost
Communist comatose
Show me all the wagers are a bet
The middle of a nuclear winter
Is a modern achievement of the retro apocalyptic horde
Satan? You must be mistaken
There are no more Satans
Only the bosses on the board
Forget, deny, ignore, nice try, it's you
Regret, rely, remorse inside of you
Yeah
Maybe you've been down too long
Maybe you've been down too long
The heart begins to suffer
When the soul has given up
And the flesh is barely more than bone
When no one else is listening
Only when you've had enough
Time to sing this dying song alone
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Die, die, die, yeah
Maybe you've been down too long
Maybe you've been down too long
Think hard, you bastards
You're gonna tell me why
If I don't get an answer
You're gonna sing and die
Think hard, you bastards
You're gonna tell me why
If I don't get an answer
You're gonna sing and die
The heart begins to suffer
When the soul has given up
And the flesh is barely more than bone
When no one else is listening
Only when you've had enough
Time to sing this dying song alone
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Die, die, die, yeah
Radical rather than rhetorical
Babble like an oracle
Why am I always in your debt?
Father and the son and the holy ghost
Communist comatose
Show me all the wagers are a bet
The middle of a nuclear winter
Is a modern achievement of the retro apocalyptic horde
Satan? You must be mistaken
There are no more Satans
Only the bosses on the board
Forget, deny, ignore, nice try, it's you
Regret, rely, remorse inside of you
Yeah
Maybe you've been down too long
Maybe you've been down too long
The heart begins to suffer
When the soul has given up
And the flesh is barely more than bone
When no one else is listening
Only when you've had enough
Time to sing this dying song alone
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Die, die, die, yeah
Maybe you've been down too long
Maybe you've been down too long
Think hard, you bastards
You're gonna tell me why
If I don't get an answer
You're gonna sing and die
Think hard, you bastards
You're gonna tell me why
If I don't get an answer
You're gonna sing and die
The heart begins to suffer
When the soul has given up
And the flesh is barely more than bone
When no one else is listening
Only when you've had enough
Time to sing this dying song alone
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Lyrics submitted by EternalTearsOfSorrow
The Dying Song (Time To Sing) Lyrics as written by Jim Root Corey Taylor
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Dying Song is a pessimistic song about the end of the world, as we are watching it happening right now. Slipknot blame the influential people who run the world. But it’s also our fault because we didn’t pay enough attention to what was happening under our noses. The lyrics hint that now it’s too late: we can only sing this last song and then die helplessly.