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 look outside from far above
I watch you sleep and dream, dream out loud
You say you wish that you could find
A guiding light, a guiding hand
A safer place to stand
We've never been so close to be so far
There's millions of reasons, there is no way out
Shall we give up so easy, shall we give up so easy
[Chorus]
Here we are dusting down the stars
Here we are dusting down the stars
Here we are dusting down the stars
Left by the roadside all alone
I turned to speak to you right there but you were gone
You stood and cried and wondered why
You can't return from where we came
Why are we born to fade away?
We've never been so close to be so far
There's millions of reasons, there's no way out
Shall we give up so easy, shall we give up so easy
Here we are dusting down the stars
Here we are dusting down the stars
As I stood outside all alone
Thought I could hear you comin' back into the fold
[Chorus]
We fall apart, we fall apart
Here we are dusting down the stars
As I stood outside all alone
I thought I heard you
I watch you sleep and dream, dream out loud
You say you wish that you could find
A guiding light, a guiding hand
A safer place to stand
We've never been so close to be so far
There's millions of reasons, there is no way out
Shall we give up so easy, shall we give up so easy
[Chorus]
Here we are dusting down the stars
Here we are dusting down the stars
Here we are dusting down the stars
Left by the roadside all alone
I turned to speak to you right there but you were gone
You stood and cried and wondered why
You can't return from where we came
Why are we born to fade away?
We've never been so close to be so far
There's millions of reasons, there's no way out
Shall we give up so easy, shall we give up so easy
Here we are dusting down the stars
Here we are dusting down the stars
As I stood outside all alone
Thought I could hear you comin' back into the fold
[Chorus]
We fall apart, we fall apart
Here we are dusting down the stars
As I stood outside all alone
I thought I heard you
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I think this song means that He was in love with a girl and she passed away or left him or that stopped talking for some reasonfading away you know and yeah sorrry i cant think straight but thats pretty much what i think it means dusting down the stars could mean ending a relationship so ... yeah
I think this is a song about a couple who recently broke up because it just wasnt working out but a part of them still wants to stay together. At the begining she's looking for a light or for a reason to stay with him. Together they dust down the stars and with that any possibility of finding any reason to stay together. It is obvious throughout the song that they still think about each other and that they still love each other but there is a million reasons that they can't be together. The millions of reasons (or stars) have all been "dusted down".
To me this song is about two people who are in love but because they are going in different directions things don't work out, working on a relationship that is faltering can be hard, giving up easy. A very beautiful song and the video is absolutely amazing, the white dress discarded on the grass at the end of the video is a very powerful image of hopes, dreams and love faded away to nothing.
I also love this song a lot.. maybe it is about a girl or a relationship.. but ive seen them a couple of times live, and mat joly always says its about their hometown, of course of Montréal..... anyway I just love mobile.. great song
Beautiful song... I still have no idea what the phrase "dusting down" means, though.
@Lenescho dusting down means to wipe/remove dust off of something
Beautiful song; although many say it’s about a romantic relationship, I think it’s about the relationship between God (Not the traditional judgmental god, but the all-loving, omnipresent, not afraid to be human and suffer, closer to you than your jugular vein kind of God) and his earthly aspect/creation (us)\nVerse 1 (God’s pov);\nGod reflects on humans’ point of view regarding the difficulties of life, pain and suffering \nPre chorus (Human pov): \n“We’ve never been so close to be so far” refers to the fact that humans have a divine spark, We have the potential for non-possessive unselfish love, compassion and peace but do not always live up to that potential. In this respect we are close, yet far from divinity, but maybe that is exactly as it should be, for some reason which we can’t grasp.\n “Shall we give up so easy”-shall we continue to aspire to love and virtue or should we succumb to hopelessness and nihilism in the face of the challenges that life throws us is the question all humans ask at some point.\n“There’s millions of reasons there is no way out” reflects the millions of reasons we must consider for each choice we make in our lives and the occasional experience of being trapped or hopelessness.\nChorus: \nDusting down the stars refers to the spiritual growth by humans on earth. They remove the dust to reveal the star, the inner gem of love, integrity, virtue and everything else that is beautiful and worthy.\nVerse 2: \n“I turned to speak to you but you were gone”-Truth speaks to us but we refuse to listen and so feel lost.\n“You stood and cried…we can’t return from where we came”-when we feel lost we feel we cannot return to a state of peace and love: from where we came.\n“Why are we born to fade away”- Identifying too heavily with ego and the physical, we often fear mortality and feel small and insignificant.\nOutro:\n“We fall apart”- as we go through the pain of life, we feel like we are falling apart but in challenges there is growth.\n“As I stood outside all alone, I thought I could hear you coming back into the fold, I thought I heard you” examines the importance of reflection contemplation and meditation, especially outside in nature. Stand all alone, silent and you may hear Truth.
@teddy11789 Sorry for the terrible formatting :)