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.
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
I look at you like you're perfect for me
If you are the diamond, then I am the ring
All of our friends think of us jealously
We're so sweet, so sweet
Built us a world and I gave you the key
Still can't believe that this isn't a dream
Falling in love with a damn fantasy
That's so me, so me
But I've been livin'
Life in fiction
In my head, we're dancing in the dark
In my head, we kiss under the stars
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Cause, baby, this ain't like the movies
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
We go to parties with people you know
We're holdin' hands but it's all just for show
'Cause Monday through Friday we both barely spoke
They don't know, they can't know
Like just on the drive here, I was lookin' through your texts
I was screamin' my damn head off how you still love your ex?
And you say that it's over, but why does she call you
At 3AM and 4AM? That's a funny way of stayin' friends
In my head, we're dancing in the dark
In my head, we kiss under the stars
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Cause, baby, this ain't like the movies
In my head, we never grow apart
In my head, you never break my heart
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Cause, baby, this ain't like the movies
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
Baby, we lost all this love that we have (movies, movies)
And I can't pretend that it'll never come back (I want a love like the movies)
And I think you're seeing right through me (movies, movies)
But, baby, this ain't like the movies
And I want a love like the movies
I want a love like the movies
I look at you like you're perfect for me
If you are the diamond, then I am the ring
All of our friends think of us jealously
We're so sweet, so sweet
Built us a world and I gave you the key
Still can't believe that this isn't a dream
Falling in love with a damn fantasy
That's so me, so me
But I've been livin'
Life in fiction
In my head, we're dancing in the dark
In my head, we kiss under the stars
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Cause, baby, this ain't like the movies
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
We go to parties with people you know
We're holdin' hands but it's all just for show
'Cause Monday through Friday we both barely spoke
They don't know, they can't know
Like just on the drive here, I was lookin' through your texts
I was screamin' my damn head off how you still love your ex?
And you say that it's over, but why does she call you
At 3AM and 4AM? That's a funny way of stayin' friends
In my head, we're dancing in the dark
In my head, we kiss under the stars
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Cause, baby, this ain't like the movies
In my head, we never grow apart
In my head, you never break my heart
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Cause, baby, this ain't like the movies
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
Movies, movies
I want a love like the movies
Baby, we lost all this love that we have (movies, movies)
And I can't pretend that it'll never come back (I want a love like the movies)
And I think you're seeing right through me (movies, movies)
But, baby, this ain't like the movies
And I want a love like the movies
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.