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 pushed the button and elected him to office and
He pushed the button and he dropped the bomb
You pushed the button and could watch it on the television
Those motherfuckers didn't last too long
I'm sick of hearing 'bout the have's and have-not's
Have some personal accountability
The biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is
The more we let you have, the less that I'll be keeping for me
Well, I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Traded in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G
Don't give a shit about the temperature in Guatemala
Don't really see what all the fuss is about
Ain't gonna worry about no future generations and I
Am sure somebody's gonna figure it out
Don't try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person
You haven't had enough to know what it's like
You're only angry 'cause you wish you were in my position
Now nod your head because you know that I'm right, all right!
Well, I used to stand for something
But forgot what that could be
There's a lot of me inside you
Maybe you're afraid to see
Well, I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Traded in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G
Well, I used to stand for something
But forgot what that could be
There's a lot of me inside you
Maybe you're afraid to see
Well, I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Traded in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G
He pushed the button and he dropped the bomb
You pushed the button and could watch it on the television
Those motherfuckers didn't last too long
I'm sick of hearing 'bout the have's and have-not's
Have some personal accountability
The biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is
The more we let you have, the less that I'll be keeping for me
Well, I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Traded in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G
Don't give a shit about the temperature in Guatemala
Don't really see what all the fuss is about
Ain't gonna worry about no future generations and I
Am sure somebody's gonna figure it out
Don't try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person
You haven't had enough to know what it's like
You're only angry 'cause you wish you were in my position
Now nod your head because you know that I'm right, all right!
Well, I used to stand for something
But forgot what that could be
There's a lot of me inside you
Maybe you're afraid to see
Well, I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Traded in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G
Well, I used to stand for something
But forgot what that could be
There's a lot of me inside you
Maybe you're afraid to see
Well, I used to stand for something
Now I'm on my hands and knees
Traded in my god for this one
And he signs his name with a capital G
Lyrics submitted by SMUSER17012811, edited by blackcats111, shadowcat9
Capital G Lyrics as written by Trent Reznor
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
G=Greed Everyone has it Hes clearly talking about greed all throughout this song
"theres alot of me inside you"
abhpro: Yes it takes place in 2022. But great art imitates real life.
George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1948 but was commenting on the political changes of england and Europe post WWII.
Terry Giliams Brazil was about the ever growing bureaucracy and overprotective intrusions of governments in the late 1980's
Fritz Lang's Metropolis made in the 1920s, which is the story of a large futuristic city in the year 2026, dealt with the issues of the then emerging communism and capitalism.
There are many more dsytopian pieces of art that reflect off of current events of the time they were created.
So YZ is about a fictional dystopia in 2022, but is based on the political and historical situations of today.
I love the way Trent sings this song. The chorus is amazing.
As for the meaning, I'd imagine the speaker is someone in a government position while people are rebelling against the Parepin dosage in the water. I love how Year Zero shows viewpoints from all kinds of people in 2022.
its about george bush "he signs his name witha capital G"
YZ is based in 2022...
I think the G either stands for government/god
The George Bush thing is just bush bashers trying to turn every song into an anti bush, when I'm pretty sure Trent could give enough of a fuck to write an anti-bush song like every one else. Government has always been this way, just with different faces, and this song is basically saying that.
G stands for greed. The quote below is taken from wikipedia<br /> <br /> Though numerous reviews of the album speculated that "G" refers specifically to the G in George W. Bush, where the capitial G has a significant meaning Trent Reznor stated that the "G" stands for "Greed".[2][3][4]
@D4MVP lol<br /> He literally had a giant illuminated stage display of George W Bush's face slowly morphing into John McCain's face while singing it on tour in 2009 or so. I'm sure it stands for greed too, but he was writing about politics.
To me this song is about that sort of thing, society become more and more capitalised, business orientated, people just taking things for themselves, hedonistic, greedy leaders of countries, companies, etc. "The biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is, The more we let you have the less that I'll be keeping for me"
Does anybody else think its not a coincidence that in the last chorus, when he echoes "Stand for something" for the first time, it almost makes the line sound like "Maybe you're afraid to stand for something"?
As much of an attack this is on corruption and government, it also very indirectly and cleverly condemns us. There is a lot of corruption inside every last one of us; as he says, we're just afraid to see, its in our nature to think we're right. Along with that is the follower instinct, comparing people to sheep who just listen and obey and are too scared to stand up for what they believe in. This all ties into the entire Year Zero concept to me; the entire album ends with the line "and all we ever were, just zeros and ones". Just my thoughts.
1. (The inside view of those who voted for a president. Beginning with 'I'): I pushed the button and elected him to office, and He pushed the button, and he dropped the bomb
(The outside view of those watching it unfold. Beginning with 'You'): You pushed the button, and could watch it on the television Those motherfuckers didn't last too long
(This first verse sets up the typical I verses You argument. Or us versus them.)
(View of the wealthy pragmatist) I'm sick of hearing 'bout the have and have-not's Have some personal accountability The biggest problem with the way that we are doing things is The more we let you have, the less that I'll be keeping for me
(The view of the capitalist consumer) Don't give a shit about the temperature in Guatemala Don't really see what all the fuss is about Ain't gonna worry about no future generations I'm sure somebody gonna figure it out
(The view of the wealthy pragmatist) Don't try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person You haven't had enough to know what it's like You're only angry 'cause you wish you were in my position Now nod your head because you know that I'm right, all right!
Chorus:
(This is Trent's cynical view on the lack of moral guidance in consumer culture) Well, I used to stand for something But forgot what that could be (Now he says also that this attitude is inside everyone) There's a lot of me inside you Maybe you're afraid to see
(We are a slave to the power of the culture) Well, I used to stand for something Now I'm on my hands and knees (Now he says that God has been replaced by the Capital, which is capitalism, and the G now stands for the God of Capitalism) Turning in my god for this one And he signs his name with a capital G
What if G stands for something a little more simple like Government? Trent could be writing about George Bush, but don't you think he'd rather keep blaming Government.
Your only angry cause you wish you were in my position
should be You're, not Your
ok, so thusfar we've got: George Bush Greed Government Global Warming Genocide God
Here are my additions: G - the gravitational constant Gorgonzola Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft thats all