The Figurehead

This song is about a deep depression and a man on the verge of suicide... "Sharp and open Leave me alone And sleeping less every night" -- Depressed people have trouble sleeping and feelings of needing to be alone. He also feels like he’s been cut open. "As the days become heavier and weighted Waiting In the cold light" -- Things are getting darker by the day and he's feeling cold inside and/or the world has a bleak glow (everything is grey, film noir-ish) as he's hoping for things to change. "A noise A scream tears my clothes as the figurines tighten With spiders inside them And dust on the lips of a vision of hell" -- He's getting more and more depressed and doesn't feel comfortable in his old skin and surroundings, he’s getting paranoid and scared and he feels it’s all pushing him in the wrong direction (Hell). "I laughed in the mirror for the first time in a year" -- To me this is a sign of panic when realizing you're probably not gonna make it.

"A hundred other words blind me with your purity Like an old painted doll in the throes of dance" -- He's thinking back to (probably) her kind words that used to cheer him up, and now the words or this happiness just scaling off like paint on and old wall (or an old doll). "I think about tomorrow Please let me sleep" -- He's thinking about his insomnia again and hoping he’ll get some sleep tonight so he'll get through the next day (and maybe even feel a little better). "As I slip down the window" -- He's hoping to float away and maybe someone will notice (tied to the imagined suicide/funeral further down). "Freshly squashed fly You mean nothing You mean nothing" -- He's either talking about the girl who left him, wanting her to be crushed like he is (like a bug) and mean nothing to him (or anybody, also like him), or realizing that he means nothing to anybody (or this girl in particular) and that he's like a squashed bug that gets thrown in the trash without the person killing/throwing them caring.

"I can lose myself in Chinese art and American girls" -- He's thinking that maybe he could dedicate his time on other things to get out of his depression or getting over this girl... "All the time Lose me in the dark" -- ..but he knows that in the end he'll still not feel better and still miss her. "Please do it right Run into the night I will lose myself tomorrow Crimson pain" -- He's contemplating suicide and building up his courage to do it. "Crimson pain" is possibly tied to the suicide depicted in 'Pornography': "I'll watch you drown in the shower", slitting his wrists and watching the blood flow into the drain. "My heart explodes My memory in a fire” -- He’s thinking about how he hope to feel when he goes through with the suicide… hoping that he’s life will flash before his eyes (memory in a fire) and that he’s probably best off dying. “And someone will listen At least for a short while..." -- This is him thinking about his funeral. He's wondering who'll be there and that, at least for a moment, someone will think about him and (maybe) how they treated him. He could possibly also be talking about wanting commit a “cry-for-help”-suicide, wanting to be found, so that someone will listen to him and hopefully ease his pain.

"I can never say no to anyone but you" -- This one is a bit tricky to fit into my interpretation. When I started listening to the song I thought this part was him thinking this about his lover - how he really wants her, but still, ironically, turns her down and treats her badly. It can, however, also fit with the depression/suicide theme in that he's actually telling himself to do it already and that he'll know it's for the best when he's gone.

"Too many secrets Too many lies Writhing with hatred Too many secrets Please make it good tonight..." -- He's thinking about all the secrets and lies in this relationship, and how he wrote/said things he didn't mean (maybe even as poetry/lyrics if you want this to be a bit Smith-autobiographical). He wants it all undone, but... "But the same image haunts me In sequence In despair of time" -- ...yet again he knows that with time he'll always come back to missing her and feeling this bad. A vicious circle, so to speak, he’ll always return to his personal purgatory or destiny.

"I will never be clean again" -- He's thinking how the scars on his wrists will be visible forever if he doesn't make it. "I touched her eyes" -- She fancied him because he was good looking, and she fell for him. (Maybe a synonym for the "shining eyes"-thing from "There Is No If..."?). "Pressed my stained face" -- He's thinking about how he wasn't good enough for her or how he stained her just by being around. Probably connected with her "purity" (before they met) mentioned earlier. "I will never be clean again" -- This could, in addition to the scars, be about how he will never feel better again after HE (yes, he) was stained by her when she left him (she returned the favor). This is also IMHO connected to "Lovesong" with the line "You make me feel like I am clean again" and, as someone else mentioned under "Lovesong", this is clearly an intentional reference (in "Lovesong", that is).