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.
Far, away from it all
You and me with no one else around
A brand new start
Is all we need, it's all we need to mend these hearts
Back to the beginning
Be still
Let it go
Before we lost hope
When we still touched and love wasn't so hard
Be still
I already know
Foolish one with the smile
You don't have to be brave
Every time we fall down
But we're falling from grace
I'll gladly climb your walls if you'll meet me halfway
Slow, slow it down
Why do we run, we're missing so much babe
Just lay in my arms for a while
Be still
We should've known
Foolish one with the smile
You don't have to be brave
I'll gladly climb your walls
If you'll meet me halfway
Every time we fall down
But we're falling from grace
Here's my hand and my heart
It's yours to take
Be still
Be still now
Be still
Be still
Be still
You and me with no one else around
A brand new start
Is all we need, it's all we need to mend these hearts
Back to the beginning
Be still
Let it go
Before we lost hope
When we still touched and love wasn't so hard
Be still
I already know
Foolish one with the smile
You don't have to be brave
Every time we fall down
But we're falling from grace
I'll gladly climb your walls if you'll meet me halfway
Slow, slow it down
Why do we run, we're missing so much babe
Just lay in my arms for a while
Be still
We should've known
Foolish one with the smile
You don't have to be brave
I'll gladly climb your walls
If you'll meet me halfway
Every time we fall down
But we're falling from grace
Here's my hand and my heart
It's yours to take
Be still
Be still now
Be still
Be still
Be still
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Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
I think this song is about a exgirlfriend and boyfriend who broke up and she's telling him that he doesnt have to be perfect with whatever he does and that they can get back together and all he has to do is meet her halfway.
i think its about letting someone back in
I think it's about compromise, and accepting you can't always change the other person to meet a certain mold. The person in this song realizes that 'meeting halfway' could be the solution to all their problems in the relationship.
i think that its about a girl who wants her boyfriend to know that both made mistakes and it´s not that bad...and to cope with everything they need to be there for each other and understand it and not blame themselves for it...she wants to try again but only if he wants it...
Okay people, THIS is what "Be Still" is about:
it's about a couple, and things are going bad for them
they miss the way it was in the beginning of their relationship. when they were still in love and really into each other
now everything is messed up
and she will do anything to get it back
and shes willing to meet him halfway to fix it.
its sad, but optimistic..
agree with 4everandever, with the additional thought that they're thinking there's no point in rushing, that they don't have to run in towards love so fast. instead they can just...y'know...be still.
^I agree
I love this song!
Its about problems in relationship but still she wants to stay together because she's so in love with him. No matter how much they fight with each other but still she wants him to stay the same
A beautiful song I can relate to.
They've been through hell and back, and though they're both tired and worn out and scared of love, she's willing to try and wants nothing more than to comfort him, prove to him that she won't let him fall, and won't hurt him.