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 a gone dead train
Yes, it's a gone dead train
My engine was pumpin' steam
And I was grindin' at you hard and fast
Burnin' down the rails, tryin' to heat the way
Haulin' ass and ridin' up the track
And I laughed at the conductor who was tellin' me my coal
It would never last
But then the fire in my boiler
Up and quit before I came
Ain't no empty cellar
Like a gone dead train
Once was at a time when I could
Mama shave 'em dry
And raise a fever ice-down chill
Waitin' at the station
With a heavy loaded sack
Savin' up and holdin' just to spill
Shootin' my supply through my demon's eye
Instead of holdin' my time, I hope I will
But then the fire in my boiler
Up and quit before I came
There ain't no empty cellar
Needs a gone dead train
Yes it's a gone dead train
I'm gonna teach it to learn now, now
It's a gone dead train
Yes it's a gone dead train
I'm gonna teach it to learn now, now
It's a gone dead train
Gonna teach it, gonna teach it to learn
There ain't no easy day
When your daily run's a downhill pull
And there ain't no easy way
Wishin' for some jelly roll
There ain't no switch been made
To make your juicy lemon find
A spring to run a dry well full
But then the fire in my boiler
Up and quit before I came
Ain't no empty cellar
Needs a gone dead train
Yes it's a gone dead train
I'm gonna teach it to learn
You know it's a gone dead train
Gonna teach it, gonna teach it to burn
It's a gone dead train
It's a gone dead train, you gotta learn
It's a gone dead train
Gonna teach it, gonna teach it, gonna teach it to burn.
Yes, it's a gone dead train
My engine was pumpin' steam
And I was grindin' at you hard and fast
Burnin' down the rails, tryin' to heat the way
Haulin' ass and ridin' up the track
And I laughed at the conductor who was tellin' me my coal
It would never last
But then the fire in my boiler
Up and quit before I came
Ain't no empty cellar
Like a gone dead train
Once was at a time when I could
Mama shave 'em dry
And raise a fever ice-down chill
Waitin' at the station
With a heavy loaded sack
Savin' up and holdin' just to spill
Shootin' my supply through my demon's eye
Instead of holdin' my time, I hope I will
But then the fire in my boiler
Up and quit before I came
There ain't no empty cellar
Needs a gone dead train
Yes it's a gone dead train
I'm gonna teach it to learn now, now
It's a gone dead train
Yes it's a gone dead train
I'm gonna teach it to learn now, now
It's a gone dead train
Gonna teach it, gonna teach it to learn
There ain't no easy day
When your daily run's a downhill pull
And there ain't no easy way
Wishin' for some jelly roll
There ain't no switch been made
To make your juicy lemon find
A spring to run a dry well full
But then the fire in my boiler
Up and quit before I came
Ain't no empty cellar
Needs a gone dead train
Yes it's a gone dead train
I'm gonna teach it to learn
You know it's a gone dead train
Gonna teach it, gonna teach it to burn
It's a gone dead train
It's a gone dead train, you gotta learn
It's a gone dead train
Gonna teach it, gonna teach it, gonna teach it to burn.
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Gone Dead Train Lyrics as written by Russ Titelman Jack Nitzsche
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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‘Gone Dead Train’, originally performed by Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse, is a clever but dirty story about the frustration the subject is experiencing due to his erectile disfunction. The engine is the male penis, the cellar is the female vagina (i.e. the old saying ‘bottom-knocking’). The beginning of the song relates the man’s arrogance about how he envisions his reputation to be that of a ‘stud’, only to find today that he is failing at the task. He then reminisces of his past escapades, how he could go on and on, finally releasing his supply (ejaculating) through his demon’s eye (no explanation needed here, I hope) when he was finally ready to do so ... but today finds that his prolific sexual prowess is apparently a thing of the past. Acquiescing to this humbling and embarrassing realization, he commiserates while stating the obvious fact that there is no easy way to simply flick a switch on that will make his train (his penis which will not stay erect) burn down the tracks (the vagina) again. Instead, he will have to teach it to burn (down the tracks) again ... though he does not seem to know yet just how to prevent perpetuating his sexual frustration. ‘Ain’t no empty cellar’ (the woman’s vagina) ‘needs a gone dead train’ (an impotent man’s penis) ... or in other words, no woman wants a soft, impotent man during sex, and he knows that ... so he’s gonna have to teach it to learn, to teach it to burn ...
@Hicoselman You nailed it. Pun intended.<br /> I will add that the band is hot. I just listened to it 8 times