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.
Holiday, oh, a holiday
And the best one of the year
Dozing off underneath my sheets
While I cover both my ears
But if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fears?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
Holiday, still so far away
A republic on the beach
I can't forget just how bad it gets
When I'm counting on my teeth
But if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fears?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
A vegetarian since the invasion
She'd never seen the word 'bombs'
She'd never seen the word 'bombs'
Blown up to 96-point Futura
She'd never seen an AK
In a yellowy Day-Glo display
A T-shirt so lovely, it turned all the history books grey
I got wheels, I got Cutter spray
And a healthy sense of worth
Half of me is the gasoline
But the other half's the surf
So if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fears?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
And the best one of the year
Dozing off underneath my sheets
While I cover both my ears
But if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fears?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
Holiday, still so far away
A republic on the beach
I can't forget just how bad it gets
When I'm counting on my teeth
But if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fears?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
A vegetarian since the invasion
She'd never seen the word 'bombs'
She'd never seen the word 'bombs'
Blown up to 96-point Futura
She'd never seen an AK
In a yellowy Day-Glo display
A T-shirt so lovely, it turned all the history books grey
I got wheels, I got Cutter spray
And a healthy sense of worth
Half of me is the gasoline
But the other half's the surf
So if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fears?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
Lyrics submitted by TemporaryLife, edited by dodgerblue
Holiday Lyrics as written by Christopher William Tomson Christopher Joseph Baio
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I think he's talking about the invasion on the Middle-East. Yes, honest.
"Holiday, oh, a holiday And the best one of the year Dozing off underneath my sheets While I cover both my ears"
Means bombs falling and protecting from it.
A vegetarian since the invasion She'd never seen the word "bombs" she'd never seen the word bombs blown up to 96 point Futura She'd never seen an A-K in a yellowy day-glo display A t-shirt so lovely, it turned all the history books grey
This girl who lived there didn't what boms were, and what AK47s looked like. And her t-shirt will be in all the history books forever, to show how bad the conflict was.
Half of me is the gasoline But the other half's the surf
Since the Middle East is basically oil, and the oil is shipped to the sea in those huge tankers, that's why it's such an importante place to have control over.
I think this song is about a girl in the middle of a war longing for a vacation. I don't think it's the middle-east though. A few things point to it being set in England in World War II:
The word 'holiday' seems to reference British English where holiday often means vacation.
"A vegetarian since the invasion" references how many people were vegetarian during the war due to a lack of meat production.
"96 point Futura" is a font that would have been used on a front-page during that time. You wouldn't see Futura on a front page these days.
I just love this song, it speaks to the sense of longing amidst chaos we all face.
I think the "AK in the yellowy day glo display" sets a middle eastern scenario, which is a very sunny day, and an AK47, which is a modern weapon and usually used by terrorists and militia and stuff
You're right that it's the middle-east, but just to nitpick, the AK-47 isn't a "modern middle-eastern weapon", it was a standard issue rifle of the Soviet Union. Most terrorists and guerillas use AK-47s now because there are so many of them and they're relatively easy to get.
@pianomatt I don't think so because he mentions Cutter spray, in this context I'm assuming it's one of their insect replants, this brand product didn't exist during WW2.
Ok so the first verse, to me, indicates that the subject of the song is being immensely sarcastic and ironic. " the best one of the year". Even the tone of the song is ironic for it is lighthearted and fun, when the songs meaning is serious. The next two lines talk about how he is dozing off and trying to dream of a holiday but at the same time he can not sleep because of the noise of war. And again the chorus talks about the subject of the song imagining a day without war and calling it a holiday. Then the song starts to talk about a republic on the beach, which immediately makes me think of Beirut Lebanon. I don't know of VW intended on the song taking place in Beirut, but the imagery matches Beirut's juxtaposing nature, for it is a city surrounded by partying, youth, and beach life, but is often the victim of air raids and bombs. The next verse talks about a family who had become vegetarian after losing their appetite for meat. The family has realized that people are being killed and treated like animals, and they can not stand the thought of eating any kind of blood during war. The "she" in the song seems to be young and has not experienced war ( like Lebanon in the 80's). And I like the witty reference of the word Bomb being "blown up" to 96 pt Futura, which is a geometric san serif typeface that I beleive is the typeface that VW uses on their logo...it is at least immesely similar. I like the next line too that talks about the A-K's and comparing the destruction to day-glo which is a neon paint. This pain was often seen in tees in the 80's...but all of the history books were turned to gray. This alludes the the fact that history books can not capture the horror of war, and students are almost separated and sheltered from the gruesomeness of war, for pictures and words can not capture what war is really like. Then he talks about contrasting imagry of the beach. He says I have a car, I have bug stray and I have a healthy sense of worth, but on the other hand half of our ocean is filled with gasoline from the war. He can not escape it's harm, even on his day at the beach. That goes back to the original chorus asking " if I wait for a holiday, could it stop my fear?" Back to the idea that this takes place in Beirut. In Beirut, the people have this sense of live for today. Party now worry later. You can have your "Holiday" and endure a war.
"she'd never seen the word bombs blown up to 96 point futura"
"I got wheels, I got Cutter spray"
History books grey.
i never thought i'd see my favorite typeface mentioned in a song. thank you, vampire weekend.
I'm still waiting for my copy of the album to get here, but I'm pretty sure it's "red," like the teacher makes the books blush.
About the war in Iraq.
How is Iraq a republic on the beach?
They mentioned this in interviews etc.<br /> <br /> nme.com/blog/index.php<br /> <br /> "The lyrics refer to a member of my family who gave up eating meat when we invaded Iraq. They were horrified by what was happening internationally and they lost their taste for meat. It wasn’t even necessarily an overt protest, it was a physical reaction."<br /> <br /> In another interview (translation by me): "you don't have to understand her reaction, I don't either, but it should how people can react and express their political engagement differently"
So I got my copy today, and the line is, according to the lyrics insert, "A t-shirt so lovely, it turned all the history books gray." I like the misheard version better. Kinda like "The devil swam the backstroke all the way from France."