Mannequin

you kinda missed the bridge:

if the past is the problem our future could solve em, baby i could bring you to life if you let me inside, baby it'll hurt but in the end you'll be a man

and then comes the chorus one more time

yeah, meaning is pretty obvious. she's in a relationship with someone who won't open up. she doesn't know how to get into him. i love katy's voice in this one. it almost sounds so..delicate? idk the word. but i love it.

she's basically calling him immature, because it seems like he doesnt really care about anything. and he doesnt open up, doesnt seem to take interest. and shes trying to tell him that her love is real, and that if he could feel that, he'd finally be a man :) cute song.

she's addressing the fact that most men are stupid and emotionless...she tries getting through to the "mannequin" but he doesn't respond, and makes her feel like he doesn't care. as with most guys, unfortunately. :)

Okay, so we all know the lyrics are wrong. But I want to talk about it in terms of a fanfic I've been reading.

There's actually two I've read, "An Exquisite Pain" and "Dancing With Time". In the first one, an ordinary (for her world) fifteen-year-old girl accidentally ends up in the past and the device that took her back is broken (time-travel does happen in her world). She ends up as a transfer student at her boarding school, which still exists, and even becomes a Prefect, due to the uniform being totally the same and her prefect badge being on. But she also ends up working with the other prefect in her year, a boy whose name she recognizes, but she's not sure where from. At first, he annoys her because all the teachers seem to love her, and one of her new friends swoons over his good looks, and although he hangs out with people, he seems strangely detached from everyone, including this girl. However, as they get to know each other, she becomes suspicious of him, becomes interested, and wants to break him down. Her love of learning seems to translate to wanting to figure him out, and that leads to her wanting to get closer to him. Then, she discovers that he's afflicted with a serious illness that affects him both physically and mentally, and during one of his episodes, he lets slip the person he plans to be, and the girl remembers that in her time, he died when she was tiny, but is known as one of the most dangerous, most powerful warmongerers of all time. And yet she's already starting to fall for the fifteen-year-old version of him.

So why does this song suit this story? Because our male lead seems to always be masking, never showing his true self, and is almost heartless because he was never shown love himself. His mother died giving birth to him and his father didn't want him or his mother. The protagonist is a learner, "usually the queen of figuring out" and no matter what she says, she never seems to get any further because he won't show any emotion. When he finally does, it's because he's taken a medicine that lowers his inhibitions, and even then, he only says "I care about you more than I could have ever imagined caring about anyone", which is still not love. Our poor girl feels like she "keeps knocking on wood, hoping there's a real boy inside", and while he stays with her, there's very few moments when he actually shows any vulnerability to her, and sometimes he's just manipulating her. He also never says "I love you", no matter how many times she says it, and she knows that she can't "put him back together again", and is "such a fool" for falling for him. He also seems to always doubt her love is unconditional, too, and she often wants him to "feel that my love is real".

I can't believe no one has commented this. Katy Perry is amazing. This is basically about being in a relationship with someone who won't open up.

It's about a guy who doesn't seem to really care about anything. Hoping theres a surprise inside that chocolate shell :P

I like this song, pretty good I think. In fact, I think "One of the Boys" is a very good CD and Katy is very talented. I don't know if I have a different version of the song then you but those are definitely not the lyrics I'm hearing. I listened to it and wrote the lyrics, and double check, so here are the correct lyrics.

How do I get closer to you? When you keep it all on mute. How will I know, the right way to love you?

Usually the queen of figuring out. Breaking down the man is no work out. But I have no clue how to get through to you.

I wanna hit you just to see if you cry. I keep knockin' on wood, hopin' there’s a real boy inside.

Cause you’re not a man, you’re just mannequin. I wish you could feel, that my love is real, but you’re not a man.

I wish I could just turn you on. Put a battery and make you talk. Even pull a string, for you to say anything.

But with you there is no guarantee. Only expired warranty. A bunch of broken parts, and I can’t seem to find your heart.

I’m such a fool, I’m such a fool, I’m such a fool. This one’s out of my hands, I can’t put you back together again.

Cause you’re not a man, you’re just mannequin. I wish you could feel, that my love is real, but you’re not a man.

You’re just a toy, could you ever be a real, real boy. Understand, but you’re not a man.

If the past is the problem, our future could solve em, baby. I could bring it alive if you let me inside, baby. It’ll hurt but in the end, you’ll be a man.

You’re not a man, you’re just a mannequin. I wish you could feel my love is real. Toy, could you ever be a real, real boy. Understand, but you’re not a man. You’re not a man, you’re just a mannequin. I wish you could feel, that my love is real, but you’re not a man.

Think those should be the correct lyrics!

Uh...I actually think she's actually saying she's in love with a mannequin..I mean, not everything has to be a metaphor? If you think I'm wrong, sue me, but songs are all about deciding what they mean to you, and I say dummy-porn. Thank you.

this song is so true, she's saying this guy has no emotion.. which is how most guys act.