In my view, Aegipan got it right. This song is obviously about how we try to avoid the things in life that cause us pain, but as a result forgo that which makes life worth living.
The "don't"s vary from the apparently reasonable, "Don't talk to strangers". to the absurd, "Don't smell the flowers". These, however, are presented with equal seriousness in the song to show us how far we already have fell into the trap of Stranger Danger and the like, living in a world where men exist only to molest children and women to break the hearts of men.
The change of perspective in the song only further underlines that. While the narrator does not try to deny that he is "danger" he adds that "I'm forever the one that lets you look and see". The key that opens up the soul, so to speak, as the joys of life go hand in hand with the darker side.
The repeated allusions to insanity, however, do suggest the bipolar interpretation suggested by The Oracle, but to me the other seems more convincing.
In my view, Aegipan got it right. This song is obviously about how we try to avoid the things in life that cause us pain, but as a result forgo that which makes life worth living.
The "don't"s vary from the apparently reasonable, "Don't talk to strangers". to the absurd, "Don't smell the flowers". These, however, are presented with equal seriousness in the song to show us how far we already have fell into the trap of Stranger Danger and the like, living in a world where men exist only to molest children and women to break the hearts of men.
The change of perspective in the song only further underlines that. While the narrator does not try to deny that he is "danger" he adds that "I'm forever the one that lets you look and see". The key that opens up the soul, so to speak, as the joys of life go hand in hand with the darker side.
The repeated allusions to insanity, however, do suggest the bipolar interpretation suggested by The Oracle, but to me the other seems more convincing.