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.
A fire in the sky
Ablaze the spark beyond the stars
Its gleaming wings will cut their way
Through the silent paths of space
Planets whirl, suns are lit
Mountains fly, stars are dimmed
Its golden sabres tear through time
In the night of the river of death
Fly the silent prince electors
On the banks of Tuonela
Bleach the skeletons of kings
Their skulls of sugar sickly sweet
Their bones piled up on the shore
On bed of mottled rocks
Amid flowers cold as ice
Pray the weak, the old, the poor
And when the tiny one from heaven comes
Crawls inside the chosen skull
And when the tiny one it summons the others
To crawl inside the chosen skull
They build their castles in the heads of kings
Bring life to the empty halls
They build their castles in the heads of kings
And honey will flow once more, once more
In the night of the river of death
Fly the silent prince electors
And when the tiny one from heaven comes
Crawls inside the chosen skull
And when the tiny one it summons the others
To crawl inside the chosen skull
They build their castles in the heads of kings
Bring life to the empty halls
They build their castles in the heads of kings
And honey will flow once more, once more
Ablaze the spark beyond the stars
Its gleaming wings will cut their way
Through the silent paths of space
Planets whirl, suns are lit
Mountains fly, stars are dimmed
Its golden sabres tear through time
In the night of the river of death
Fly the silent prince electors
On the banks of Tuonela
Bleach the skeletons of kings
Their skulls of sugar sickly sweet
Their bones piled up on the shore
On bed of mottled rocks
Amid flowers cold as ice
Pray the weak, the old, the poor
And when the tiny one from heaven comes
Crawls inside the chosen skull
And when the tiny one it summons the others
To crawl inside the chosen skull
They build their castles in the heads of kings
Bring life to the empty halls
They build their castles in the heads of kings
And honey will flow once more, once more
In the night of the river of death
Fly the silent prince electors
And when the tiny one from heaven comes
Crawls inside the chosen skull
And when the tiny one it summons the others
To crawl inside the chosen skull
They build their castles in the heads of kings
Bring life to the empty halls
They build their castles in the heads of kings
And honey will flow once more, once more
Lyrics submitted by EternalTearsOfSorrow
The Bee Lyrics as written by Juha Pekka Kainulainen Amorphis
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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a member of this band has confirmed that this song has to do with 'Kalevala' (which is a Finnish national epic compiled from old Finnish ballads, lyrical songs & incantations that's part of Finnish oral tradition). This song is about the hero Lemminkäinen dying and being sent to the river Tuonela (the underworld) & his mother going to fetch him back. His mother sews his body back in one piece and the sky god Ukko sends a bee from the heavens to blow life back into him. Also, their song 'Silent Waters' is about the same thing, but mainly from the mother's point of view.
@EternalTearsOfSorrow, thank you for this very interesting translation. I do like Amorphis and this song