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.
Sitting on a park bench
Thinking about a friend of mine
He was only twenty three
Gone before he had his time
It came without a warning
Didn't want his friends to see him cry
He knew the day was dawning
And I didn't have a chance to say goodbye
In this life I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
What for?
Driving down the boulevard
Thinking about a man I knew
He was like a father to me
Nothing in the world that he wouldn't do
Taught me to respect myself
He said that we're all made of flesh and blood
Why should he be treated differently
Shouldn't matter who you choose to love
In this life I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
People pass by and I wonder who's next
Who determines, who knows best
Is there a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this case
Ignorance is not bliss
In this life I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
People pass by and I wonder who's next
Who determines who knows best
Is there a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this case
Ignorance is not bliss
Have you ever watched your best friend die (what for)
Have you ever watched a grown man cry (what for)
Some say that life isn't fair (what for)
I say that people just don't care (what for)
They'd rather turn the other way (what for)
And wait for this thing to go away (what for)
Why do we have to pretend (what for)
Some day I pray it will end
I hope it's in this life
I hope it's in this life time
I hope it's in this life
I hope it's in this life time
Thinking about a friend of mine
He was only twenty three
Gone before he had his time
It came without a warning
Didn't want his friends to see him cry
He knew the day was dawning
And I didn't have a chance to say goodbye
In this life I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
What for?
Driving down the boulevard
Thinking about a man I knew
He was like a father to me
Nothing in the world that he wouldn't do
Taught me to respect myself
He said that we're all made of flesh and blood
Why should he be treated differently
Shouldn't matter who you choose to love
In this life I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
People pass by and I wonder who's next
Who determines, who knows best
Is there a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this case
Ignorance is not bliss
In this life I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
People pass by and I wonder who's next
Who determines who knows best
Is there a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this case
Ignorance is not bliss
Have you ever watched your best friend die (what for)
Have you ever watched a grown man cry (what for)
Some say that life isn't fair (what for)
I say that people just don't care (what for)
They'd rather turn the other way (what for)
And wait for this thing to go away (what for)
Why do we have to pretend (what for)
Some day I pray it will end
I hope it's in this life
I hope it's in this life time
I hope it's in this life
I hope it's in this life time
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
In This Life Lyrics as written by Madonna Ciccone Shep Pettibone
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Beautiful Cicccone Detroit ballad In This Life-maybe even Madonna's saddest-ever performance! The song is about two early friends of hers who meant a lot to her and both succumbed to AIDS. In This Life has a timeless message for a Madonna tune. Love knows no season-it haunts the soul eternally-call In This Life Madonna's version of Mozart's A Little Night Music and Robert Johnson's Hellhound on My Trail. Sad, powerful and heartbreaking-that is In This Life-a ballad so good and sad that Madonna will take to her grave, In This Life=Madonna Brilliance!