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.
Me and my old lady sittin' in the shade
Talkin' 'bout the money that I ain't made
Singin' o boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
If I could I surely would
Stand on the rock that Moses stood
Singin' O boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Drank so much hooch
It my eyes be gettin' blurry
They say I nailed her to the wall
A stitch in time don't mean a thing
No hangman jury could make me crawl
'Cause I'm a poor boy dontcha
Line the track a lack a
O boy dontcha line the track
O boy dontcha line the track a lack a
O boy dontcha line the track
Whatcha do with a gun that's loaded
Shot her dead and her heart exploded
Tell me baby now d-dontcha worry
Like lyin' to a Hangman Jury
I swear I didn't know that '45 was loaded
In fact my memory ain't too clear
That's not to say she didn't get what she deserved
Least that's the way it looked from here
Boy when you line the track a lack a
Hey boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Hey boy dontcha line the track
Ooh, my love came tumblin' down
Ooh, love come tumblin' down
Ooh, Let's get outta here
Love come tumblin'
And every night she take her things into the city
And in the morning make me beg
If I'd taken all her titty gritty
Smack her right upside the head
Boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Ooh, my love came tumblin' down
Ooh, love comes tumblin' down
Ooh, love comes tumblin' down
Poor boy sweatin' in the hot summer night
Hangman waitin' for the early mornin' light singin'
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
If I could I surely would
Stand on the rock that Moses
Done stood singin'
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Talkin' 'bout the money that I ain't made
Singin' o boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
If I could I surely would
Stand on the rock that Moses stood
Singin' O boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Drank so much hooch
It my eyes be gettin' blurry
They say I nailed her to the wall
A stitch in time don't mean a thing
No hangman jury could make me crawl
'Cause I'm a poor boy dontcha
Line the track a lack a
O boy dontcha line the track
O boy dontcha line the track a lack a
O boy dontcha line the track
Whatcha do with a gun that's loaded
Shot her dead and her heart exploded
Tell me baby now d-dontcha worry
Like lyin' to a Hangman Jury
I swear I didn't know that '45 was loaded
In fact my memory ain't too clear
That's not to say she didn't get what she deserved
Least that's the way it looked from here
Boy when you line the track a lack a
Hey boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Hey boy dontcha line the track
Ooh, my love came tumblin' down
Ooh, love come tumblin' down
Ooh, Let's get outta here
Love come tumblin'
And every night she take her things into the city
And in the morning make me beg
If I'd taken all her titty gritty
Smack her right upside the head
Boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Ooh, my love came tumblin' down
Ooh, love comes tumblin' down
Ooh, love comes tumblin' down
Poor boy sweatin' in the hot summer night
Hangman waitin' for the early mornin' light singin'
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
If I could I surely would
Stand on the rock that Moses
Done stood singin'
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
Oh boy dontcha line the track a lack a
Oh boy dontcha line the track
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Another brilliant Aerosmith blues with Steven Tyler's harp blown front and center. The melody is based on a Leadbelly/Charley Patton/Robert Johnson-style delta blues but Joe Perry's guitar is Metal/Rock and Tyler's writing definitely is about his ongoing battle with drugs and the sad realization if he's ever gonna be sober after all-it may never happen if at all-"I Swear I Didn't know that .45 Was Loaded/In fact My Memory Ain't Too Clear!..." Harrowing Song!