Frankenstein

Super-long in-depth examination, so read at your own risk and feel free to make your own interpretations and alterations.

Dr. Frankenstein, in the book by Mary Shelley, was a character who tampered with the rules that govern life and thus created a monster which despised its own existence. <SPOILER:> At the end of the book, both the monster and Dr. Frankenstein perish, because the creation of this monster was so against the natural order of things.

This song is about a relationship.

"catch your breath take your time it's a gold mine but that's my only crime that's my only crime I'm the south the sugarcane and I have found a way to celebrate but that's my only crime just gimme the keys and gimme your time"

--For convenience purposes, we'll call the speaker a he, or a boyfriend, and the person to whom he speaks a she, his girlfriend. Maybe it could be the other way around, too. Who knows?--

"Catch your breath/Take your time" is the speaker telling the (supposed)girlfriend that she can have her space. One can guess from the word choice of "catch your breath" that she feels that the relationship is going too fast. When he then calls her time a "gold mine," it means that he thinks that there's a lot in her time for him to have. There is obviously nothing sharing about this relationship- the gold mine is there for his taking. [It could also be a reference to the gold that's mentioned later in the song- the gold stars, her past rewards for being a good girl, stashed away in her own private cave? (The gold stars represent the positive reinforcement that good kids get in elementary schools- you'll see later.) By calling her time a "gold mine", the speaker is demeaning her accomplishments, as though the gold is not from her accomplishments but something innate and nonrenewable that's precious and running out. He wants to take that gold, and by taking it, he risks transforming her into an empty, black cave.] "But that's my only crime" is a phrase repeated throughout the song which continually morphs in its meaning. Here, he's on the defensive. The crime is in his thinking her time a gold mine, in wanting to take things a little fast. He calls himself the South, a place that's warm, where life thrives. The sugarcane is raw, unprocessed sugar. It's his primal instinct, and the sugar cane could perhaps be intended as a phallic symbol as well (not entirely certain about that). "Just gimme the keys and gimme your time"- with these words, he shows he's being controlling and manipulative. He wants the keys to her privacy too quickly, and he won't take no for an answer. He's giving her her time to think it over- but he wants what he wants.

"so tell me it's good to be back a gold star turns black tell me it's good to be back a gold star turns black"

"So tell me/It's good to be back"- he's urging her to tell him that she's not taking any more time to think about their relationship, and that she's ready to keep going with him. The gold-star-turning-black image is particularly intricate and could mean a few different things. The gold star (remember "Ten outta ten/An A plus") represents her always having been a good girl, in school and in everyday life. It's also a mark of immaturity- you really only get gold stars in elementary school. He uses the gold star image to poke fun at her being a good girl. Black star, though, he could use to mean a few different things. "Turning black," obviously, can mean that she's becoming a bad girl. This early in the song, though, it could be indicating the black dwarf star. The black dwarf is a cold, dead star, the only testament to the bright star that it used to be, burning in the depths of space. Here, the girlfriend is being unresponsive to his advances- a cold, dead star.

"I see Paris I see France I see you making that face again but that's my only crime if you wanna make waves so take your time the nuclear whim with the fuse of a mile new and improved who is late all the time oh, but that's my only crime"

"I see Paris/I see France" refers to the verses that everybody knows in kindergarten. The next line is "I see someone's underpants." It's the speaker again calling her immature and at the same time making hints at her. In reaction, she "makes a face" at him. Making faces is something little kids do, so this indicates that he doesn't take her disapproval seriously and thinks she has some growing up to do. "But that's my only crime/If you wanna make waves/So take your time." His crime now is related to her "making waves." He truly doesn't think he's done anything wrong. He's also psychologizing her, making her think that her complaints have no basis. She can take her time, but he makes her feel guilty for it. "The nuclear whim with the fuse of a mile." By "whim," he's saying that her objections are unpredictable and utterly arbitrary. With "nuclear," he indicates that she's a devastating bomb ready to blow the relationship apart, but her "long fuse" means that she will endure the relationship for a long time and probably never make good on her threats. "New and improved/Who is late all the time." She is "new and improved." The relationship has changed her, but she is "late all the time" because she hesitates to make these changes, not willing to give up her gold star status. This time he repeats "Oh, but that's my only crime" to minimize it, to make her think that these pushes he's giving her are really no big deal, perhaps that other boys do it too and that she can just deal with it.

"so tell me you're coming with us ten outta ten an A plus so tell me it's good to be back turns black turns black"

"You're coming with us" is a fitting variation of what he's been saying- "It's good to be back." When he says "us," that's himself and the girl having already moved forward in the relationship, and her finally coming with them is her will finally succumbing. His separating her into two pieces seems to say that her choices are not important to him. All that really matters is that he can still dominate her and use her as he likes, and if she's finally giving up, then good- he doesn't have to worry much about the "nuclear whim" anymore. "Ten outta ten/An A plus." Showing his approval, sure, but he's still mocking her for having been a good girl and is treating her like a child who is without any ability to make her own choices. A final note on the "turns black": the black star could also refer to a black hole. He's taking away her will, but it will soon take its toll on him too, like the monster did on Dr. Frankenstein. The underlying message is that one cannot create love where it does not exist naturally, just as one should not do it with life.