My interpretation is as follows; Take it for what you will. =)
The apparitions tango to the sound of their heels tapping,
A procession of prosthetics limbs and mannequins.
[Everyone seems to be a massive party of identical "robots" or "mannequins" without the will to move/think on their own.]
They’re all perfect models of imperfection,
With a marrow made of cellophane.
[They're made to be "perfect models" of human imperfection.]
Strap on your ballroom best.
Breath in and don’t exhale.
[This basically seems to be an order for someone (particularly a young lady, with the reference to "ballroom best"/"breath in and don't exhale" (corsets (sp?? o.O)) to prepare themselves to become a part of the mindless majority afore-mentioned.]
Oh, Juliet! Oh, Juliet! Deny your name your father.
[Defy the push to conform to their will, fight to prevent becoming one of them at all costs.]
Rearrange the cells that form my skin.
See them through kaleidoscope eyes
Because everybody feigns sometimes.
[This could be a plea for someone to see them as they really are: human. They wish to be seen completely and honestly, encompassing even their worst flaws ("because everybody feigns sometimes"), because in order to be human, one has to make mistakes..since perfection is truly non-existant.]
Blur your eyes,
Romeo.
Bend the line
Romeo
Do you like what you see!
[Another plea to defy the conformity and to see them as what they really are..They're asking the other if they like what they're seeing in them; their honest, imperfect self]
Oh Romeo
Where are thou?
I’ve dressed up this canvas skin’ painted something colorful just for you.
[They're asking for them to "come and see" their creation, the work of art they've made themselves to be. They've taken their "canvas skin" (unoriginal, blank self/personality) and "dressed it up", making it "colorful just for [them]"..they've made themselves an individual.]
Self-inflicted surgery is now routine.
It erases all traces of faces we have all known; we have all owned.
Stretch me over this
Two by four skeleton
[Here's where the twist of the song seems to come in..They go from becoming an individual and wishing for everyone to see them as such, to -in a sense- observing how everything seems to be going. Everyone around them is performing "self-inflicted surgery" (changing who they are and erasing what they've been to become part of the accepted majority) and the last lines "Stretch me over this, two-by-four skeleton" seems to say that they're realizing they're doing the same thing and becoming a part of the crowd.. ((Or perhaps they're stretching their new individual "skin" over themselves and in turn becoming unique.)) - Could go either way.]
My interpretation is as follows; Take it for what you will. =)
The apparitions tango to the sound of their heels tapping, A procession of prosthetics limbs and mannequins.
[Everyone seems to be a massive party of identical "robots" or "mannequins" without the will to move/think on their own.]
They’re all perfect models of imperfection, With a marrow made of cellophane.
[They're made to be "perfect models" of human imperfection.]
Strap on your ballroom best. Breath in and don’t exhale.
[This basically seems to be an order for someone (particularly a young lady, with the reference to "ballroom best"/"breath in and don't exhale" (corsets (sp?? o.O)) to prepare themselves to become a part of the mindless majority afore-mentioned.]
Oh, Juliet! Oh, Juliet! Deny your name your father.
[Defy the push to conform to their will, fight to prevent becoming one of them at all costs.]
Rearrange the cells that form my skin. See them through kaleidoscope eyes Because everybody feigns sometimes.
[This could be a plea for someone to see them as they really are: human. They wish to be seen completely and honestly, encompassing even their worst flaws ("because everybody feigns sometimes"), because in order to be human, one has to make mistakes..since perfection is truly non-existant.]
Blur your eyes, Romeo. Bend the line Romeo Do you like what you see!
[Another plea to defy the conformity and to see them as what they really are..They're asking the other if they like what they're seeing in them; their honest, imperfect self]
Oh Romeo Where are thou? I’ve dressed up this canvas skin’ painted something colorful just for you.
[They're asking for them to "come and see" their creation, the work of art they've made themselves to be. They've taken their "canvas skin" (unoriginal, blank self/personality) and "dressed it up", making it "colorful just for [them]"..they've made themselves an individual.]
Self-inflicted surgery is now routine. It erases all traces of faces we have all known; we have all owned. Stretch me over this Two by four skeleton
[Here's where the twist of the song seems to come in..They go from becoming an individual and wishing for everyone to see them as such, to -in a sense- observing how everything seems to be going. Everyone around them is performing "self-inflicted surgery" (changing who they are and erasing what they've been to become part of the accepted majority) and the last lines "Stretch me over this, two-by-four skeleton" seems to say that they're realizing they're doing the same thing and becoming a part of the crowd.. ((Or perhaps they're stretching their new individual "skin" over themselves and in turn becoming unique.)) - Could go either way.]