Lyric discussion by mockingsmile 

Cover art for Acoustic Guitar lyrics by Magnetic Fields, The

eh? I don't see that at all, heartheartmsile. Seems like the lyrics are pretty literal. She's kind of facietously talking to the guitar like it's conscious. Her ex-girlfriend liked folk music, so she preferred Claudia to play acoustic guitar instead of drums. She broke up with Claudia because they didn't have much in common, so Claudia imagines that if she plays the acoustic guitar really well, her girlfriend will like her more and want to get back together. She treats the guitar like a person, promising it presents and threatening to sell it if it doesn't sound good enough to convince her girlfriend. It's a pretty awesome song idea.

It's an old song idea -- cf. Thomas Wyatt's "Blame Not My Lute," from the 16th century. I'm pretty sure Merritt is working self-consciously in that tradition. Which is what he does.