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 place up ahead and I'm goin'
Just as fast as my feet can fly
Come away, come away if you're goin'
Leave the sinkin' ship behind
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Ooh
Bring a song and a smile for the banjo
Better get while the gettin's good
Hitch a ride to the end of the highway
Where the neon's turn to wood
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Ooh
You can ponder perpetual motion
Fix your mind on a crystal day
Always time for good conversation
There's an ear for what you say
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Yeah
Ooh
Catch a ride to the end of the highway
And we'll meet by the big red tree
There's a place up ahead and I'm goin'
Come along, come along with me
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Yeah
Do do do do
Do do do do
Do do do
Do do do do, yeah
Do do do do
Do do do do do
Just as fast as my feet can fly
Come away, come away if you're goin'
Leave the sinkin' ship behind
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Ooh
Bring a song and a smile for the banjo
Better get while the gettin's good
Hitch a ride to the end of the highway
Where the neon's turn to wood
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Ooh
You can ponder perpetual motion
Fix your mind on a crystal day
Always time for good conversation
There's an ear for what you say
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Yeah
Ooh
Catch a ride to the end of the highway
And we'll meet by the big red tree
There's a place up ahead and I'm goin'
Come along, come along with me
Come on the risin' wind
We're goin' up around the bend
Yeah
Do do do do
Do do do do
Do do do
Do do do do, yeah
Do do do do
Do do do do do
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
it's about joyriding...or just having fun...here's my in-depth analysis
in the first verse, he is telling somebody that there's a place up ahead to which he is running as fast as he can...we know he is running as fast as he can as the line "just as fast as my feet can fly" is a metaphor; literally it would mean: my feet are moving really fast and i will not go slower than as fast as they can move...at the end of the verse he invites the listener to come along and "leave this sinkin' ship behind"
AHA! could this be draft-dodgers fleeing to canada? california is kinda arc-shaped; is going "around the bend" goin up around the coast into a different country?
REFRAIN: here he is saying the "rising wind" of the war is becoming to much to handle and it's time to get out
the second verse starts off all about having fun, but the second line reveals that u gotta get out before it's too late: before u get drafted..."the end of the highway" represents the canadian border, which is where the glamour of california/the US turns into Canadian wilderness, "where the neons turn to wood"
the next-to-last verse states that, with newfound freedom, they can "ponder perpetual motion," enjoy the "crystal day," talk to each other about everything (as now there they don't hav to worry about others not being sympathetic to their anti-war views)...
the last verse once again refers to "the end of the highway" where they'll "meet by the big red tree," which refers to the Big Red Leaf on Canada's flag...the once again makes sure the listener knows that he is going up ahead to a place to which we are invited to come
Excellent comment...never considered the fleeing to canada, draft dodging angle(big red tree).....makes alot of sense, being that Fogerty was politically hip.....thanks, and my appreciation for the tune increased ten- fold.!!