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.
These windy streets tell of a different time
What got us here won't get us there
It's time for the upright to have insight
Don't forget what's important in life
This place is like a cage that will imprison you
Is comfort only found without adversity
Anyone, anywhere in history
Has confronted these realities
What got us here won't get us there
I'll be there soon that's why I care
Everyone you love will one day fade away
Everything you have will rot and decay
Everything around us will burn
Burn up in the death of the sun
It's in the pain that we see our true selves change
In the sea of difficulty we are defined
When we're blind we will feel our true selves change
In the sea of difficulty we leave our comfort behind
We are found in far away places, when all seems lost
We are found in far away places, not all is lost
We must be strong and cling onto hope (cling onto hope)
We must be strong, when the ground is shifting out from under our feet
We are found in far away places when all seems lost
We are found in far away places when all seems lost
Stop majoring in the minors
It's when you get inside that is widens
Stay true tempered (stay true tempered)
You're not the first to find life is tough
Circumstantial hope isn't really hope
It's just a watered down distraction from what stands in our way
Hope gives us the ability to face reality
The ability to see through it all
What got us here won't get us there
It's time for the upright to have insight
Don't forget what's important in life
This place is like a cage that will imprison you
Is comfort only found without adversity
Anyone, anywhere in history
Has confronted these realities
What got us here won't get us there
I'll be there soon that's why I care
Everyone you love will one day fade away
Everything you have will rot and decay
Everything around us will burn
Burn up in the death of the sun
It's in the pain that we see our true selves change
In the sea of difficulty we are defined
When we're blind we will feel our true selves change
In the sea of difficulty we leave our comfort behind
We are found in far away places, when all seems lost
We are found in far away places, not all is lost
We must be strong and cling onto hope (cling onto hope)
We must be strong, when the ground is shifting out from under our feet
We are found in far away places when all seems lost
We are found in far away places when all seems lost
Stop majoring in the minors
It's when you get inside that is widens
Stay true tempered (stay true tempered)
You're not the first to find life is tough
Circumstantial hope isn't really hope
It's just a watered down distraction from what stands in our way
Hope gives us the ability to face reality
The ability to see through it all
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The "hillbilly" interlude in this song just tops of this great track!