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.
Wait, I'm not listening to you now
I wasn't listening to you then
And I know that nothing will be the same again
There's only so much I can handle
Only so much I can take
Before my knees start to buckle
And my arms start to shake
we been here before?
Will we be here again?
I don't know how much more of me you expect
Standing here right now
And I beg for you to let go
I dread the day you finally do
I fight for your attention
Too little too late or too much too soon
And how will this plague the time
We share from here on out
And how long will this taint
All these words spilling from my mouth
Have we been here before?
Will we be here again?
I don't know how much more of me you expect
Oh oh
Oh oh
Oh oh
Standing here right now
Standing here right now, oh oh
Have we been here before?
Will we be here again?
I don't know how much more of me you expect
I wasn't listening to you then
And I know that nothing will be the same again
There's only so much I can handle
Only so much I can take
Before my knees start to buckle
And my arms start to shake
we been here before?
Will we be here again?
I don't know how much more of me you expect
Standing here right now
And I beg for you to let go
I dread the day you finally do
I fight for your attention
Too little too late or too much too soon
And how will this plague the time
We share from here on out
And how long will this taint
All these words spilling from my mouth
Have we been here before?
Will we be here again?
I don't know how much more of me you expect
Oh oh
Oh oh
Oh oh
Standing here right now
Standing here right now, oh oh
Have we been here before?
Will we be here again?
I don't know how much more of me you expect
Lyrics submitted by x_melancholy_x
Faint Resemblance [Acoustic] Lyrics as written by Timothy Mcilrath Brandon Barnes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It actually makes a lot of sense when you think of the title. Sometimes you meet someone who gradually takes on the same role in your life... be it a love interest, a significant other, a best friend, a confidant, an enemy... as someone who took that role in a past life. It makes less sense to me being about one person... how can a person faintly resemble themselves?... but they can resemble someone else. And sometimes when they do, it's like being taken back to that place all over again, for better or for worse.