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.
One, two
One, two
A disappointment condition, a perfunctory prescription
Of an indigent mindset of belligerent silence
We got all we need droning out of a tin can
Thinking about the rain under the sweatshirt hood
Listen to the noise on the battery tape deck
A Judas train wreck, anonymous suspect
Hovering in carbon monoxide cremations
Loners waste away inside of vacant locations
Think tanks empty, international dream bank
Plug in my reactor to the fallout zone
The enemies' story is a lot like mine
And if you get to the point then you know better than I
Dark star like an eye that's closing
Sees through the shards from a scar that's open
Autopilot drivers riding out on the ice age
Infidels swallowed in a vanishing point
Ammunition souls shooting holes in the ozone
Widow's tears washing the soldier's bones
Sterilized egos delirium sequels
Punctured by the arrows of American eagles
Robot to teach you all the rules that delete you
Backspace my brain, my equilibrium guns
Dark star, just an eye that is closing
Sees through the shards from a scar that's open
One, two
One, two
You know what to do
One, two
A disappointment condition, a perfunctory prescription
Of an indigent mindset of belligerent silence
We got all we need droning out of a tin can
Thinking about the rain under the sweatshirt hood
Listen to the noise on the battery tape deck
A Judas train wreck, anonymous suspect
Hovering in carbon monoxide cremations
Loners waste away inside of vacant locations
Think tanks empty, international dream bank
Plug in my reactor to the fallout zone
The enemies' story is a lot like mine
And if you get to the point then you know better than I
Dark star like an eye that's closing
Sees through the shards from a scar that's open
Autopilot drivers riding out on the ice age
Infidels swallowed in a vanishing point
Ammunition souls shooting holes in the ozone
Widow's tears washing the soldier's bones
Sterilized egos delirium sequels
Punctured by the arrows of American eagles
Robot to teach you all the rules that delete you
Backspace my brain, my equilibrium guns
Dark star, just an eye that is closing
Sees through the shards from a scar that's open
One, two
One, two
You know what to do
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Glassjaw
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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Gadjits, The
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
No wonder there are no comments. trying to come up with a meaning to this song is giving me a headache.
Very laid back for a rap song. Even though I'm not a fan of rap, Beck is definitely one of the exceptions. This is my second favorite song on the album next to Cell Phone's Dead and is obviously a homage to Beck's Sea Change album.
I get a very political feel from this song as well, especially political in the sense of global warming, death of the world, etc.
"Hovering in carbon monoxide cremations"
"Plug in my reactor to the fallout zone"
"Ammunition souls shooting holes in the ozone"
Definitely reminds me of global warming. Almost as if this "Dark Star" is Earth's future. The hole(s) in the ozone layer are/is the "scar that's open."
who needs a song meaning when you have that awesome harmonica solo with the bass and the hooting!
this song seems to me to be mainly a very dim forecast for the future. These lines: "The enemies' story is a lot like mine /And if you get to the point then you know better than I", "widow's tears on soldiers' bones" and the descriptions of general desolation throughout the song tell me that this future was he victim of some sort of human-designed blight, maybe nuclear war. The "enemy's story being a lot like mine" speaks of a period of international tension, suspicion and paranoia that led to this destruction. "egos, delirium, and arrows of american eagles" indicates the war was begun by the US. It seems like there were a few human survivors of the disaster, but the world seems to be run mostly by machines :"autopilot drivers, ammunition souls (antiaircraft weaponry?), robot teachers", etc.
Also, the nuclear war caused the sky of this future world to be polluted beyond repair by the "carbon monoxide cremations (ashes from disintegrated people/plants animals) and other fallout. This pollution has caused the "ice age".
"Dark star, just an eye that is closing Sees through the shards from a scar that's open"
I think the dark star is the sun trying to shine through the skies darkened by the "shards" of the incinerated buildings, trees, etc., that cloud the sky. The sun being an "eye that is closing" may be symbolic of a higher power (God?) that had been previously watching over humanity, yet has given up on them because of the destruction they caused themselves and others by their hostility and lack of trust.
Well, that's my guess at the meaning. It's a really depressing song now that I soent time to analyze its meaning...
this song seems to me to be mainly a very dim forecast for the future. These lines: "The enemies' story is a lot like mine /And if you get to the point then you know better than I", "widow's tears on soldiers' bones" and the descriptions of general desolation throughout the song tell me that this future was he victim of some sort of human-designed blight, maybe nuclear war. The "enemy's story being a lot like mine" speaks of a period of international tension, suspicion and paranoia that led to this destruction. "egos, delirium, and arrows of american eagles" indicates the war was begun by the US. It seems like there were a few human survivors of the disaster, but the world seems to be run mostly by machines :"autopilot drivers, ammunition souls (antiaircraft weaponry?), robot teachers", etc.
Also, the nuclear war caused the sky of this future world to be polluted beyond repair by the "carbon monoxide cremations (ashes from disintegrated people/plants animals) and other fallout. This pollution has caused the "ice age".
"Dark star, just an eye that is closing Sees through the shards from a scar that's open"
I think the dark star is the sun trying to shine through the skies darkened by the "shards" of the incinerated buildings, trees, etc., that cloud the sky. The sun being an "eye that is closing" may be symbolic of a higher power (God?) that had been previously watching over humanity, yet has given up on them because of the destruction they caused themselves and others by their hostility and lack of trust.
Well, that's my guess at the meaning. It's a really depressing song now that I soent time to analyze its meaning...
"who needs a song meaning when you have that awesome harmonica solo with the bass and the hooting!"
hallelujah hallelujah amen
love this song =)
To me, this song is about death... Suicide more specifically. It's sort of a story, you know? A depressed person ("an indignant mindset of belligerent silence") who ponders suicide for a while ("Thinking about the rain under the sweatshirt hood") goes back to his place turns on some heavy metal ("Listen to the noise on the battery tape deck, a Judas train wreck, anonymous suspect") then commits suicide ("Hovering in carbon monoxide cremations"). Then it describes his descent into death ("Think tanks empty" aka his conciousness). Aside from that, the title, to me, seems to be blatantly about death. The light at the end of the tunnel, the Dark Star.
Aside from the first verse, I have no fucking clue what the rest of the song is about. Maybe Beck is describing what the guy's soul encounters during is ascent to heaven (or descent to hell).
I would LOVE to hear this song on some seriously good speakers. God, I get goosebumps just hearing it on my ipod.
to me it sounds like the universe being sucked through a hole in the sky. quite possibly the most bleak despairing and hell-like anti-war song ever written.