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.
There were 87 Advil in the bottle now there's 30 left
I ate 47 so what happened to the other 10?
Why do you suspiciously change the subject and break my concentration
As I dump the bottle out and I count the Advil up again?
Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thought
Have some respect for someone more forgetful than yourself
And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Hitting every pocket on my shirt, pants and overcoat
And I'm hitting them again but I don't know where I put my notes
Clearing my throat, and gripping the lectern I smile and face my audience
Clearing his throat and smiling with his hands on the bathroom sink
And when I lean my head against the frosted shower stall
I see stuff through the glass that I don't recognize at all
And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Though it may not be a long way off
I'm not done talking yet
I'm not done talking yet
And when I lean my head against the frosted shower stall
I see a broken figure silhouetted on the wall
And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Though it may not be a long way off
I won't be done until my head falls off
I ate 47 so what happened to the other 10?
Why do you suspiciously change the subject and break my concentration
As I dump the bottle out and I count the Advil up again?
Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thought
Have some respect for someone more forgetful than yourself
And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Hitting every pocket on my shirt, pants and overcoat
And I'm hitting them again but I don't know where I put my notes
Clearing my throat, and gripping the lectern I smile and face my audience
Clearing his throat and smiling with his hands on the bathroom sink
And when I lean my head against the frosted shower stall
I see stuff through the glass that I don't recognize at all
And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Though it may not be a long way off
I'm not done talking yet
I'm not done talking yet
And when I lean my head against the frosted shower stall
I see a broken figure silhouetted on the wall
And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Though it may not be a long way off
I won't be done until my head falls off
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I think a critical assumption people are making about the first verse is wrong. If he was trying to commit suicide, why would he care about the 10 missing Advil? The first verse suggests that the singer is very anal retentive, not suicidal. The singer also seems to be something of an idiot savant, being a lecturer and very forgetful. One famous figure like that was Albert Einstein later in his life. The singer also seems to be annoyed that someone is not allowing him to complete his statements; he feels the listener has a "mouth open, mind closed" attitude and won't let him talk. He's fighting this, and wanting to say what he wants to say.