Man of a Thousand Faces Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Lozeli 

Cover art for Man of a Thousand Faces lyrics by Regina Spektor

I think this song is about a man with a personality disorder, maybe he is schizophrenic- "the man of a thousand faces."

He could also be obsessive, as the lines: "Good is better than perfect, scrub till your fingers are bleeding."

As a schizophrenic can have many personalities, it is suggested here in the song that the man makes a "friendship" with the moon: "And smiles at the moon like he knows her" yet later in the song it says "The moon to him was a stranger"

This song to me is the story of a man with a split personality who struggles to fit in with the rest of the world- "Or at least blend in with the pattern."

I believe you are wrong, because being socially inept is not a disorder. You cannot expect everyone to understand everyone all of the time, and this man clearly does not understand anybody, only because he did not understand himself and his moral compass; which is what the moon represents to him, not a friendship as you stipulate. Allow me to analyze the significance of the stanza:

He used to go to his favorite bookstores And rip out his favorite pages And stuff 'em into his breast pockets The moon, to him, was a stranger

The words "used to" suggest that...