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.
It's like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
Let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
Yeah, I guess I'm a disappointment
Doing everything I can, I don't wanna make you disappointed
It's annoying
I just wanna make you feel like everything I ever did wasn't ever tryna make an issue for you
But, I guess the more you
Thought about everything, you were never even wrong in the first place, right?
Yeah, I'ma just ignore you
Walking towards you, with my head down, lookin' at the ground, I'm embarrassed for you
Paranoia, what did I do wrong this time? That's parents for you
Very loyal?
Shoulda had my back, but you put a knife in it, my hands are full
What else should I carry for you?
I cared for you, but
It's like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
Yeah, you don't wanna make this work
You just wanna make this worse
Want me to listen to you
But you don't ever hear my words
You don't wanna know my hurt, yet
Let me guess you want an apology, probably
How can we keep going at a rate like this?
We can't, so I guess I'ma have to leave
Please don't come after me
I just wanna be alone right now, I don't really wanna think at all
Go ahead, just drink it off
Both know you're gonna call tomorrow like nothing's wrong
Ain't that what you always do?
I feel like every time I talk to you, you're in an awful mood
What else can I offer you?
There's nothing left right now, I gave it all to you
It's like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
Yeah, don't talk down to me
That's not gonna work now
Packed all my clothes and I moved out
I don't even wanna go to your house
Everytime I sit on that couch
I feel like you lecture me
Eventually, I bet that we
Could have made this work and probably woulda figured things out
But I guess that I'm a letdown
But it's cool, I checked out
Oh, you wanna be friends now?
Okay, let's put my fake face on and pretend now
Sit around and talk about the good times
That didn't even happen
I mean, why are you laughing?
Must have missed that joke
Let me see if I can find a reaction
No, but at least you're happy
Feels like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
Oh, I let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
And I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
Oh, let you down
I'm sorry
I'm so sorry now
I'm sorry
That I let you down
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
Let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
Yeah, I guess I'm a disappointment
Doing everything I can, I don't wanna make you disappointed
It's annoying
I just wanna make you feel like everything I ever did wasn't ever tryna make an issue for you
But, I guess the more you
Thought about everything, you were never even wrong in the first place, right?
Yeah, I'ma just ignore you
Walking towards you, with my head down, lookin' at the ground, I'm embarrassed for you
Paranoia, what did I do wrong this time? That's parents for you
Very loyal?
Shoulda had my back, but you put a knife in it, my hands are full
What else should I carry for you?
I cared for you, but
It's like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
Yeah, you don't wanna make this work
You just wanna make this worse
Want me to listen to you
But you don't ever hear my words
You don't wanna know my hurt, yet
Let me guess you want an apology, probably
How can we keep going at a rate like this?
We can't, so I guess I'ma have to leave
Please don't come after me
I just wanna be alone right now, I don't really wanna think at all
Go ahead, just drink it off
Both know you're gonna call tomorrow like nothing's wrong
Ain't that what you always do?
I feel like every time I talk to you, you're in an awful mood
What else can I offer you?
There's nothing left right now, I gave it all to you
It's like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
Yeah, don't talk down to me
That's not gonna work now
Packed all my clothes and I moved out
I don't even wanna go to your house
Everytime I sit on that couch
I feel like you lecture me
Eventually, I bet that we
Could have made this work and probably woulda figured things out
But I guess that I'm a letdown
But it's cool, I checked out
Oh, you wanna be friends now?
Okay, let's put my fake face on and pretend now
Sit around and talk about the good times
That didn't even happen
I mean, why are you laughing?
Must have missed that joke
Let me see if I can find a reaction
No, but at least you're happy
Feels like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
Oh, I let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
And I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
Oh, let you down
I'm sorry
I'm so sorry now
I'm sorry
That I let you down
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I’ve read that he lost his mother to an overdose at a younger age. Some say these lyrics are from his father to him. I’m a way I say that’s true just from a somewhat different stand point. In the video the father is just watching this kid drown, I’m guessing that him trying to impress his father, and he just stands there watching. Toward the end of the video the father lifts open a casket in the ground and it’s his son in there and he breaks down to his knees. So I’m my opinion this is some one talking when it’s too late. It’s an open apology to whoever the person is.
@drummer012 It's sad that I think this kind of relates to a friends mom but she has cancer and hasn't died but still.
@drummer012 At the very end of the music video for this song you can see a tattoo on the fathers arm that says "real music" and his with behind him his wife comes up and called his name, "Nathan".
I haven't watched the video yet (although I probably should) but when I first heard this song, I thought of two people who had been in a relationship, but they aren't together anymore. The singer feels like they let the other person down by doing something wrong, and although they don't want to care for them anymore, they still want them to be happy. The part when he sings, "No, but at least your happy," makes me think that even though they're still apart, and that he doesn't want to be with the other person, he still wants the other person to be happy no matter what. He gave everything to them, and they just ignored him and hurt him. He doesn't want them to feel the pain that he had, so he put up with the other person and tried to make them happy. He feels like he let them down because he feels like he's failing at trying to make them happy. The part when he sings, "I wish that I could say I'm proud, I'm sorry that I let you down," makes me think that he should be proud that he's trying, but he's still sorry that he's not making anything any better.
I honestly also like the song though I haven't watched the video yet. I need to go do that now...
2018 is the year of songs about teen angst. In this song, the son just keeps repeating how sorry he is to have disappointed and let his parents down. They clearly have a rocky relationship, as the singer talks about how his parents are always lecturing him and yelling at him, but the fights are never resolved -- they only end in his parents wanting an apology, an experience that I find personally to be all too real. As is usual for many children raised in abusive households, even after he moves out of his house, there's still no reprieve. The song doesn't get any lighter or happier, the singer is still tormented by the shadows of his past. His parents have forever ruined the chance to have a relationship with him, because he is still too haunted by his memories of how they used to treat him to stand to be around them. But that doesn't matter, because no matter what, he is still riddled with guilt about all of the times they told him that he let them down.
i link to this song