The Gardener

After the arrival of the official lyrics and recent interviews, it appears that this song was not what my first impression of it was. (I kinda jumped the gun on this one...)

A much simpler explanation:

This song is about him looking inside himself and coming to a realisation about certain evident truths about himself that he wasn't aware of. And he also seems to realise just who he can become through this change, like he's remembering his ideal of who he's wanted to be all along.

"I’m not man enough to be human but I’m trying to fit in, and I’m learning to fake it."

This is coming from someone who's always seen "being human" as a sort of crowd, a belonging category. But wants to try to at least act the part so that he can be with the woman he loves, since the way he used to be wouldn't work.

"Don’t ever meet their friends. It tells you too much, or not enough, or worse--exactly the wrong thing."

This, I find, adds to what is on a couple different albums:

"I'll join the crowd that wants to see me dead, but right now I feel I belong for the first time." - "Oh no, it is everything they said it was. Oh no, I am all the things they said I was."

So he's trying to tell himself that even if he becomes human, he could potentially be told that he's been living the "wrong way" all his life; thus won't be able to have the one he loves.

"Every nuance, every detail, every movement, every smell, sound, phrase, the way she laughs; these are the things that you obsessively fetishize or make yourself grow to love."

Pretty self explanitory

"but you are supposed to be done growing. She is still growing. Its like a garden with two flowers, one just blooming and casting a shadow, just like yours"

He's saying to himself that to have her, he feels he must be complete; a perfect model of a man. While she is still changing, and so since he's still growing along side her he feels her changes are overshadowing and hindering his own transformation.

"Then it becomes struggle of sunlight, or rain, or weeds. She and every she is doomed to be your idea of her."

This line I find particularly deep. As they grow together, she sucks his resources while she becomes grows into the perfect woman for him.

"I’m not man enough to be human but I’m trying to fit in, and I’m learning to fake it--but worse so. Back to the point. You are no longer the flower and the sun, and most importantly the garden, or the gardener, a muse, your amusement. I am used. Its all ruined if you meet their friends. She and every she is doomed to be your idea of her."

Now she has become something much more, as she has grown past him. And he now realises that once he becomes human, his idea of her will be ruined.

"You never wanted to share your concept of your creation with any other gods or worshippers. Your book isn’t burned. It was never written."

He's never wanted anyone else but her.

This is my favorite song on the album. Manson is one of 3 artists that no matter how many times I listen to these songs, they still give me goosebumps when I'm blasting them at high volumes; especially the songs that I can connect to at such a deep, introspective level. This is one of them.

I consider this to be the second of his "new triptych". That may sound stupid to some, but these albums are written by a man who has come to terms with who and what he is. After a stumble and fall with Golden Age and EMDM, the albums after the spotlight faded, he regained his creativity and perspective. Don't get me wrong, I love every single album and song he's released, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that those two were his weakest.

I find this song pretty funny in fact, if you notice Marilyn Manson today is so different from what he what in the past, if you see the newest photos or interviews he's always goofing around and thing like the early manson who was so serious would never do.

"i’m not man enough to be human but I’m trying to fit in and I’m learning to fa fa fa fake it fa fa fa fa fake it fa fa fa fa fake it fa fa fa fa fake it ffffffffffffffake it"

that part of the song is just his irony about that ! love it1

All about incompleteness of being, roses that didn't grow up and book of creation that was not written, and also impossibility to become human?

i feel like its the story of a relationship in comparison to a garden filled with 2 flowers and how they are "growing" and struggling for control. they never wanted to share.

I am trying to understand the concept of how a book fits into all this. Becuase he mentions the symbolism of a book a couple times.

The artist has some good work, but lyric-wise this song is an insulting, self-ingratiating, defeatest piece of work.