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 saw the fire in your eyes
I saw the fire when I look into your eyes
You tell me things you wanna try, uh
I know temptation is the devil in disguise
You risk it all to feel alive, oh yeah
You're offering yourself to me like sacrifice
You said you do this all the time
Tell me you love me if I bring you to the light
It's like a dream what she feels with me
She loves to be on the edge
Her fantasy is okay with me
Then suddenly, baby says
Take my breath away
And make it last forever, babe
Do it now or never, babe, uh
Take my breath away
Nobody does it better, babe
Bring me close to
Want me to hold onto you tight
You pull me closer, I feel the heat between your thighs (uh, say)
You're way too young to end your life (huh)
Girl, I don't wanna be the one who pays the price
Ooh, it's like a dream what she feels with me
She loves to be on the edge
Her fantasy is okay with me
Then suddenly, baby says
Take my breath away
And make it last forever, babe
Do it now or never, babe, uh
Take my breath away
Nobody does it better, babe
Bring me close to heaven, babe, uh
Take my breath
Oh, oh-ooh
And they'll see me (yeah)
Oh-ooh, ooh (yeah)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh
Take my breath away (take my breath, my breath away)
And make it last forever, babe
Do it now or never, babe, uh
Take my breath away (take my breath, my breath away)
Nobody does it better, babe
Bring me close to heaven, babe (oh)
Take my breath (take my breath, my breath away)
(Nobody)
Take my breath (take my breath, my breath away)
Nobody does it better, babe (better)
Bring me close to heaven, babe, uh
Take my breath
I saw the fire when I look into your eyes
You tell me things you wanna try, uh
I know temptation is the devil in disguise
You risk it all to feel alive, oh yeah
You're offering yourself to me like sacrifice
You said you do this all the time
Tell me you love me if I bring you to the light
It's like a dream what she feels with me
She loves to be on the edge
Her fantasy is okay with me
Then suddenly, baby says
Take my breath away
And make it last forever, babe
Do it now or never, babe, uh
Take my breath away
Nobody does it better, babe
Bring me close to
Want me to hold onto you tight
You pull me closer, I feel the heat between your thighs (uh, say)
You're way too young to end your life (huh)
Girl, I don't wanna be the one who pays the price
Ooh, it's like a dream what she feels with me
She loves to be on the edge
Her fantasy is okay with me
Then suddenly, baby says
Take my breath away
And make it last forever, babe
Do it now or never, babe, uh
Take my breath away
Nobody does it better, babe
Bring me close to heaven, babe, uh
Take my breath
Oh, oh-ooh
And they'll see me (yeah)
Oh-ooh, ooh (yeah)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh
Take my breath away (take my breath, my breath away)
And make it last forever, babe
Do it now or never, babe, uh
Take my breath away (take my breath, my breath away)
Nobody does it better, babe
Bring me close to heaven, babe (oh)
Take my breath (take my breath, my breath away)
(Nobody)
Take my breath (take my breath, my breath away)
Nobody does it better, babe (better)
Bring me close to heaven, babe, uh
Take my breath
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Take My Breath Lyrics as written by Ahmad Balshe Abel Tesfaye
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, O/B/O DistroKid, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Lyrically I think that the song details an entanglement in a romantic relationship that ultimately leads to autoerotic asphyxiation.
I don't know about everyone but this song is giving out good vibes...it makes me think of I Feel It Coming though 😭🤧🤌🏽