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.
Back in eighty six
February and a special number
I just had to know, is this feeling real?
I picked up the phone
I was one step closer to the danger zone
I knew she'd steal my heart away
But I know I couldn't live without her love
Live without her love
The first time she looked at me
Her smile stayed on my mind
I never thought I'd ever meet
A woman of her kind
Now I'm lost in a lover's daze
And I'm not walking out
Gonna give my heart away
And hope that she will always stay
Call for me, run to me
Whenever you are lonely
Call for me, run to me my lady love
Won't you come and show me that precious smile
And maybe stay for a little while
Close the door, toss the key
Say you will always be my one and only
Looking back it seems to me
The message in her eyes
Left a lasting spell on me
A feeling I can't hide
Now I'm lost in a lover's daze
And I'm not walking out
Gonna give my heart away
And hope she will always stay
Call for me, run to me
Whenever you are lonely
Call for me, run to me my lady love
Won't you come and show me that precious smile
And maybe stay for a little while
Treat me to your sense of taste and style
And together we can walk the miles
Close the door, toss the key
Say that you will always be my one and only
February and a special number
I just had to know, is this feeling real?
I picked up the phone
I was one step closer to the danger zone
I knew she'd steal my heart away
But I know I couldn't live without her love
Live without her love
The first time she looked at me
Her smile stayed on my mind
I never thought I'd ever meet
A woman of her kind
Now I'm lost in a lover's daze
And I'm not walking out
Gonna give my heart away
And hope that she will always stay
Call for me, run to me
Whenever you are lonely
Call for me, run to me my lady love
Won't you come and show me that precious smile
And maybe stay for a little while
Close the door, toss the key
Say you will always be my one and only
Looking back it seems to me
The message in her eyes
Left a lasting spell on me
A feeling I can't hide
Now I'm lost in a lover's daze
And I'm not walking out
Gonna give my heart away
And hope she will always stay
Call for me, run to me
Whenever you are lonely
Call for me, run to me my lady love
Won't you come and show me that precious smile
And maybe stay for a little while
Treat me to your sense of taste and style
And together we can walk the miles
Close the door, toss the key
Say that you will always be my one and only
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In the liner notes to the Japanese edition of the Empire album, lead guitarist Chris Degarmo wrote: "One and Only is a song... a personal lyric of mine. And it\'s inspired by the time when I first met my wife Kimberly, we met in 1986. And we had a birthday party. Actually I really rather not to talk about this. The song says everything that I wanted to say. It\'s personal and I really don\'t want to lay out to everyone in the world exactly how my wife and I met, and what we did on our first date." Speaking further about the writing of the song and love songs in general to Music Express, Degarmo said, "Sometimes when you\'re looking for things to write about, you have to reach into yourself, and that\'s not an easy area to share. I don\'t want people to know about my wife, but I ended up writing a song about her. Some people thought that would be a mushy love song when they saw the lyrics, but that track just blazes with energy. It threw some people off that a love song doesn\'t have to be a ballad. Love is anything but a ballad!"