Skeleton Song

My take - it's about a girl who has a skeleton as a toy (or friend, if you like); and as a child that was thought of as somewhat strange by her friends ("Skeleton, when we were young it was easier/Even though the other kids, they would tease me"), but now she's a grown woman the fact she still has the skeleton is seen as even more bizarre and it's even harder to continue to keep the toy. In my mind it's a metaphor for the difficulty in trying to hold on to your youth, and the fact that you have to let go of those things that you had when you were a child. A coming of age song, in some ways I think. This makes the bridge somewhat poiniant (however you spell that at midnight!) for me, as it implies the protagonist wants to physically break all ties with her youth ("I take a hammer and I creep out of bed/ And I raise it high, and I smash your head"), but can't bring herself to do so ("But...Skeleton, you are my friend/ And I could never bring your life to an end"). In summary, I think the skeleton represents childhood, and the song is about having to grow up and break away from that.