I agree! This isn't my favorite of their huge catalog, but I'll attest to the fact that it's terribly underrated. I've never really scrutinized the lyrics, because I'm always too busy enjoying the XTC + Steely Dan feel of the music. But here goes:
The lyrics seem to describe a relationship that never went anywhere. First off, the speaker is a stranger in this other person's world (henceforth referred to as "she"), evidenced in the "not to say I was invited" part and hinted at in all the mentions of the other person's daily life. (If this song weren't about a pet name that she had for him, i'd be tempted to say that the speaker is actually stalking her.) The whole song gives the impression of a total lack of intimacy between the two.
"You said love was just a lie / but I could tell that you were lying" suggests that the object of the speaker's affections was trying to make an excuse for why she doesn't feel so strongly about the speaker. And of course she forgot his one pet name... either she wasn't all that interested in him to begin with, or she lost interest at some point and, since "that sentimental stuff doesn't suit [her]", she couldn't bring herself to tell him so.
There are so many references to time in this song that I get the sense that the relationship was more a way of killing time than anything else. This is supported by the references to really pointless pastimes like "hangman, cat's cradle, origami".
I agree! This isn't my favorite of their huge catalog, but I'll attest to the fact that it's terribly underrated. I've never really scrutinized the lyrics, because I'm always too busy enjoying the XTC + Steely Dan feel of the music. But here goes:
The lyrics seem to describe a relationship that never went anywhere. First off, the speaker is a stranger in this other person's world (henceforth referred to as "she"), evidenced in the "not to say I was invited" part and hinted at in all the mentions of the other person's daily life. (If this song weren't about a pet name that she had for him, i'd be tempted to say that the speaker is actually stalking her.) The whole song gives the impression of a total lack of intimacy between the two.
"You said love was just a lie / but I could tell that you were lying" suggests that the object of the speaker's affections was trying to make an excuse for why she doesn't feel so strongly about the speaker. And of course she forgot his one pet name... either she wasn't all that interested in him to begin with, or she lost interest at some point and, since "that sentimental stuff doesn't suit [her]", she couldn't bring herself to tell him so.
There are so many references to time in this song that I get the sense that the relationship was more a way of killing time than anything else. This is supported by the references to really pointless pastimes like "hangman, cat's cradle, origami".