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's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh ooh and she's buying a stairway to Heaven
There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook
There's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder
There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder
And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on
And it makes me wonder
Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all, yeah
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh ooh and she's buying a stairway to Heaven
There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook
There's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder
There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder
And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on
And it makes me wonder
Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all, yeah
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by Mellow_Harsher, Teampeeta254, jackson109, dylansuppiah, TheHylian, sokorny, LHGL
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I know that this probably isn't even close to accurate, but I believe that the entire song describes a lady who believes that worshiping her materialistic items and gold will get her into Heaven - like those who worshiped golden cows in the Bible. Instead, she is tricked by the Devil to think that she is walking a stairway to Heaven, with "the Piper" tempting her to continue, when in fact she is leading herself into Hell. The "rings of smoke through the trees" are "a sign on the wall" that she isn't sure of, not knowing that this is a figurative sign that she is walking straight into Hell. For a short time, in the beginning of the song, we switch to the point of view of the lady, describing her trip. The forest's echoing laughter is the Devil's laughter at her temptations and how gullible she is. The part about "there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the road you're on" is a way of saying that she could have changed her path a long time ago, before her trip to Hell, but she never did.
"Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know, The piper's calling you to join him, Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?" This part is very important because of how the lady doesn't realize the buzzing in her head, her own thoughts about how she might be going down the wrong path. The Piper is continuing to tempt her to follow to "Heaven," while the stairway she stands on is unstable because of who it was built by - the Devil - where the stairway leads - Hell - and the stairway's purpose - to trick poor souls into thinking that they are saved, going to Heaven.
The sudden switch into the solo is the sudden realization of where the lady is headed, but now there is no turning back. The solo doesn't stop immediately after the realization because she can't go back - she continues all the way to Hell. Then, "Our shadows taller than our soul" tells of our temptations, that come from Satan, growing larger than the goodness/desire for goodness in our souls when we go to Hell. The lines "And if you listen very hard, the tune will come to you at last" are about more realizations, about how this tune is not a tune of Heaven, but instead a tune of Hell. Finally, the song tells us about a lady that we all know about, and at first it doesn't make sense, but this line is figurative, speaking about those who don't realize that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Her whole life, this lady has been a good person but has material and worshiping the wrong things, and now she is in Hell. The final line, "And she's buying a stairway to Heaven," remains as a cold reminder about how nobody can get into Heaven if they don't worship or believe in God and Jesus.
@YaBoiiDankles, why exactly would a group of pagans write a song about the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?