Agreed with some others. I think it's about someone with a mental disorder.
I am the key to the lock in your house
That keeps your toys in the basement
And if you get too far inside
You'll only see my reflection
The "house" could represent the mind, and the "key" could mean that the person feels that the disorder controls their life. Also worth to note is that it's spoken in first-person, so the person believes the disorder is alive. "Keeps the toys in the basement" could be an allusion to childhood, and how the disorder has effected the person throughout their life. The person is afraid to dwell too much on their mind, however, as they're not sure where the person ends and the illness begins: "and if you get too far inside/You'll only see my reflection". The person is possibly delusional.
It's always best with the covers up
The person is hiding under their bed sheets, or possibly closing the blinds; maybe both. Paranoia is another symptom. Alternatively, the cover could by their mental shields against the world to avoid getting hurt.
I am the pick in the ice
The person tried to live normally, but the stress of life gets to them, and the disorder only serves to make the crack longer.
Do not cry out or hit the alarm
The person feels that nothing can be done to stop the illness. Perhaps they have tried before with negative results.
You know we're friends until we die
The person has accepted that the disorder is a part of them forever.
And either way you turn, I'll be there
Either way could mean a variety of things, but since the song has a feeling of desperation to escape, I think the two choices are:
a) Get help, but I'll still be there.
b) Don't get help, but I'll still be there.
Open up your skull, I'll be there
The person has tried therapy or learned about and recognized the disorder within themselves. A step away from delusion.
Climbing up the walls
The person feels backed into a corner with no escape.
It's always best when the light is off
A step back. The person decides to just let the problem be (or "turn a blind eye" to the situation).
It's always better on the outside
The external world will take the person away from the pain for a moment (i.e. TV, junk food, games, sex)
Fifteen blows to the back of your head
A fear of unsafe psychiatric procedures is enhanced by the person's paranoia.
Fifteen blows to your mind
The person is finding it increasingly difficult to go on as they are.
So lock the kids up safe tonight
Paranoia again, or possibly OCD symptom of fear of harming others. Constant rechecking on kids.
Shut the eyes in the cupboard
Another line about ignoring the problem .
I've got the smile of a local man
The disorder has been with the person so long that they feel it is close to them.
Who's got the loneliest feeling
The closeness, however, is not good. The disorder prevents the person from fulfilling life to the full standard, leaving the person with a feeling of lonely emptiness.
Agreed with some others. I think it's about someone with a mental disorder.
I am the key to the lock in your house That keeps your toys in the basement And if you get too far inside You'll only see my reflection
The "house" could represent the mind, and the "key" could mean that the person feels that the disorder controls their life. Also worth to note is that it's spoken in first-person, so the person believes the disorder is alive. "Keeps the toys in the basement" could be an allusion to childhood, and how the disorder has effected the person throughout their life. The person is afraid to dwell too much on their mind, however, as they're not sure where the person ends and the illness begins: "and if you get too far inside/You'll only see my reflection". The person is possibly delusional.
It's always best with the covers up
The person is hiding under their bed sheets, or possibly closing the blinds; maybe both. Paranoia is another symptom. Alternatively, the cover could by their mental shields against the world to avoid getting hurt.
I am the pick in the ice
The person tried to live normally, but the stress of life gets to them, and the disorder only serves to make the crack longer.
Do not cry out or hit the alarm
The person feels that nothing can be done to stop the illness. Perhaps they have tried before with negative results.
You know we're friends until we die
The person has accepted that the disorder is a part of them forever.
And either way you turn, I'll be there
Either way could mean a variety of things, but since the song has a feeling of desperation to escape, I think the two choices are:
a) Get help, but I'll still be there. b) Don't get help, but I'll still be there.
Open up your skull, I'll be there
The person has tried therapy or learned about and recognized the disorder within themselves. A step away from delusion.
Climbing up the walls
The person feels backed into a corner with no escape.
It's always best when the light is off
A step back. The person decides to just let the problem be (or "turn a blind eye" to the situation).
It's always better on the outside
The external world will take the person away from the pain for a moment (i.e. TV, junk food, games, sex)
Fifteen blows to the back of your head
A fear of unsafe psychiatric procedures is enhanced by the person's paranoia.
Fifteen blows to your mind
The person is finding it increasingly difficult to go on as they are.
So lock the kids up safe tonight
Paranoia again, or possibly OCD symptom of fear of harming others. Constant rechecking on kids.
Shut the eyes in the cupboard
Another line about ignoring the problem .
I've got the smile of a local man
The disorder has been with the person so long that they feel it is close to them.
Who's got the loneliest feeling
The closeness, however, is not good. The disorder prevents the person from fulfilling life to the full standard, leaving the person with a feeling of lonely emptiness.
Just my interpretation, of course.