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.
Last born of the clan
First one to be free
Lived inside a house
Beneath the hanging tree
Loved them deadly nights
That chilled him to the bone
Words were cried at night
In unforgiving tones
Blood of his men was gone beneath snow
He picked up his knife and his bow
Killer of Jonathan Low
Violence from without
And anger from within
Crawling through the fields
Informing next of kin
They all turned their backs
But they all knew his name
And if he could return
They'd probably do the same
The blood of his friends was gone beneath snow
For all that I know, he died
Killer of Jonathan Low
The blood of his friends was gone beneath snow
For all that I know, he died
Killer of Jonathan Low
First one to be free
Lived inside a house
Beneath the hanging tree
Loved them deadly nights
That chilled him to the bone
Words were cried at night
In unforgiving tones
Blood of his men was gone beneath snow
He picked up his knife and his bow
Killer of Jonathan Low
Violence from without
And anger from within
Crawling through the fields
Informing next of kin
They all turned their backs
But they all knew his name
And if he could return
They'd probably do the same
The blood of his friends was gone beneath snow
For all that I know, he died
Killer of Jonathan Low
The blood of his friends was gone beneath snow
For all that I know, he died
Killer of Jonathan Low
Lyrics submitted by silentquietsnow
Jonathan Low Lyrics as written by Rostam Batmanglij Ezra Koenig
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think I have to agree with Shanghai, it doesn't sound like "Loved them deadly nights". But it is a great song. I've been listening to it nonstop.
To me, it seems like it's about a suicide. "For all that I know, he died killing Jonathan Low." Jonathan Low= the part of him that he didn't like and wanted dead. Just sayin' :)
LOL this lyrics are so strange with this music...
I assumed it was about the Irish Troubles, actually. The reference to "the clan", "Londonderry nights" (Londonderry being one of the places traditionally fought over by the British and the Irish since way before the Troubles), "words were cried at night / in unforgiving tones" = sectarianism?, from there on it's pretty self-explanatory assuming this is right. VW have written about British conflicts before (Mansard Roof = the Falklands War), so it's possible.
Namaskar friends, I think the song is about a person who was friends with Jonathan Low. Jonathan got killed in a battle and the killer escaped with a lot of casualties on his side too.
"Blood of his men was gone beneath snow He picked up his knife and bow Killer of Jonathan Low"
Our hero seeks revenge for his late friend. He tells or asks for (not quite certain here) help from his kins. But, even when they know the killer and want to see justice delivered, fearing the enormous power of enemy, they refuse.
"Violence from without And Anger from within Crawling through the fields Informing next to kin They all turned their backs But they all knew his name And if he could return They'd probably do the same."
Eventually, with some help from friends (those who agreed to fight by his side), hero avenges his friend's death. But, revenge costs him some more friends!
"Blood of his friends was gone beneath snow For all that I know, he died Killer of Jonathan Low"
I'm nearly definite that "Loved them deadly nights" should be "Londonderry nights."
I love this song! :) I don't quite get it though. Is Jonathan Low supposed to be a criminal, or what?
I believe this song is about a veteran of war or something of the like. Jonathan Low, the veteran, lost all of his friends in battle and the terribleness of the war destroyed him or what he did in the war killed him thereby in a way killing himself. Now he has nightmares about it ("words cried at night") and he goes to the families of his friends to tell them how they died. Perhaps he felt responsible for it and blamed himself to the point of emotionally killing himself...
This song is about the IRA and the British "troubles" in Northern Ireland, where Londonderry is found. Londonderry is right on the border with the Irish Republic.
Maybe it's about a betrayal of some kind? The person could have betrayed or "killed" a best friend and this person was identified and labeled with the betrayal from a group of people?
For all that I know, he died Killer of Jonathan Low
Words were cried at night In unforgiving tones
And I do agree with the war interpetation, but I feel that the above could have some intergration of meaning?
They all turned their backs But they all knew his name And if he could return They'd probably do the same
It's part of the Eclipse soundtrack if that makes any difference, Hilary. The song's a little repetitive for me...but meh.