The Pantaloon

Your grandpa died When you were nine They said he had Lost his mind You have learned Way too soon You should never trust the pantaloon

Pantaloon is a character from a classic play/pantomine called Harlequinade. The other characters are Harlequin, Pierrot, Columbine, and Clown. Pantaloon is greedy, wealthy, and old. His role in the act is his attempt to keep the lovers Harlequin and Columbine apart. This is just some background information, but basically, all you need to know, is that Pantaloon refers to an old man. Indeed, Shakespeare used "Pantaloon" as a metonymy for old man.

The intro to the song is an intro to the main character, who lost his grandpa when he was nine. The grandpa is the "pantaloon" in this case, but why did the grandfather's death cause the boy to distrust the elderly? Likely because the the old man "lost his mind." Growing forgetful, generally declining cognitively. As a young boy, (and for anyone), this is scary and confusing to witness.

Now it's your turn To be alone Find a wife And build yourself a home You have learned Way too soon That your dad is now a pantaloon

The boy grows up, has kids, and now realizes that his own father is growing old. He has just moved into his house, and suddenly realizes that his dad's mental state is going downhill. This is a shock, and it seems to have come "way too soon."

You are tired You are hurt A moth ate through Your favorite shirt And all your friends fertilize The ground you walk Lose your mind

This part is speaking directly to the pantaloon/old man. Exhaustion and pain have become a part of their everyday life. The hole in the shirt represents a general decay of how things once were. "And all your friends fertilize the ground you walk". This line reveals that the old man's friends are dead, fertilizing the ground. In other words, they're pushing up daisies. With the exhaustion, pain, decay, and loss, it's no wonder that they start to "lose their mind," to slip away rather than deal with the sadness of life.

He's seen too many stare downs Between the sun and the moon In the morning air How he used to hustle all the people Walking through the fairgrounds He's been around so long He's changed his meaning of a chair now Because a chair now, Is like a tiny island in the sea of all the people Who glide across the very surface That made his bones feeble The end can't come soon enough But is it too soon? Either way he can't deny He is a pantaloon

This rap verse discusses the life of the old man, who is likely the dad referred to in the second verse. The staredowns between the sun and the moon refer to the passage of time. He also used to be a worker at the fair, likely selling something: "hustling people."

The old man has "been around so long" that he perceives a chair differently than most people. To him, it's like a "tiny island," that provides him a much-needed rest. It's his refuge, and yet it isolates him from others, who still "glide across" the sea.

"The end can't come soon enough, but is it too soon?" This is the most powerful line in the song to me. Is it too early for the old man to die? Or would death be a mercy that would end his suffering? There's really no answer to this question.

You like to sleep alone It's colder than you know Cause your skin is so Used to colder bones It's warmer in the morning Than what it is at night Your bones are held together By your nightmare and your frights

This last verse primarily discusses the sad state of the old man. He's lonely. He's cold to the bone. His fears are the only thing "holding his bones together," or keeping him alive. However, some hope may be offered: "It's warmer in the morning than what it is at night." The man's life is approaching its later hours, and will soon be over. But the end of the day does not mean the end of the man's existence. After death, there will be warmth. I think this is referring to heaven.

Well, there it is: It's a song about people growing old, growing crazy, and dying.