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.
I'm looking at an old photograph
What a worn out memory
Still causing butterflies in me
How can I forget those word
That shattered my whole world
Distorted images flashing by
Don't take it in
It's all a lie
Can you breathe into me
I'm trying to let go, let go
Fighting demons in the dark
I'm gonna tear down these walls
I'm trying to let go, let go
Buried so deep inside me
What a saddened
Memory, memory
Memory, memory
Memory, memory
I'm trying to remember everything
To make sense of all the trauma
Will this ever be over
I, always look back with regret
I, always blame myself in the end
Disturbing memories circling my head like vultures
I'll crush these walls like a cyclone
'Cause I can't breathe on my own
I'm missing you
No I don't
I'm missing you
No I don't
What a worn out memory
Still causing butterflies in me
How can I forget those word
That shattered my whole world
Distorted images flashing by
Don't take it in
It's all a lie
Can you breathe into me
I'm trying to let go, let go
Fighting demons in the dark
I'm gonna tear down these walls
I'm trying to let go, let go
Buried so deep inside me
What a saddened
Memory, memory
Memory, memory
Memory, memory
I'm trying to remember everything
To make sense of all the trauma
Will this ever be over
I, always look back with regret
I, always blame myself in the end
Disturbing memories circling my head like vultures
I'll crush these walls like a cyclone
'Cause I can't breathe on my own
I'm missing you
No I don't
I'm missing you
No I don't
Lyrics submitted by EternalTearsOfSorrow
Memory Lyrics as written by Pontus Oscar Hjelm
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this is about the suffocating ill memories that often burden people & crush their worlds as they try to move on, then realize they cannot.