To me, Masterpiece Theatre 1 is about a man who is obsessed with a role he portrays in a show. He is obsessing about this role because he is not happy with his own life hence the line "I could wreck it if I had to but I'm the wreck so what would that do" and the line "You're beautiful, can I hide in you a while?"
The first part, "First it comes on quiet..." talks about how his obsession starts and the "you" he talks about is his own character. When he says "Every word is calculated" he is talking about the script because a character doesn't their his own voice. The writer writes the script.
His "Masterpiece" is his beautiful performance and "it was over before the start" because a show doesn't go on forever, there is a beginning middle and end. This means he can't be his character forever.
The second verse is talking about the audience who watches him perform. "They keep mostly to themselves. Don't make a sound in case they hear you" is talking about how the audience judges the actor's performance on stage. But to the actor, they are judging him because he wants to BE his character and not just portray the character. The last line "If this is just a part I portray, I don't know how it got this way" means that he doesn't understand how he got so obsessed with the role.
To me, Masterpiece Theatre 1 is about a man who is obsessed with a role he portrays in a show. He is obsessing about this role because he is not happy with his own life hence the line "I could wreck it if I had to but I'm the wreck so what would that do" and the line "You're beautiful, can I hide in you a while?"
The first part, "First it comes on quiet..." talks about how his obsession starts and the "you" he talks about is his own character. When he says "Every word is calculated" he is talking about the script because a character doesn't their his own voice. The writer writes the script.
His "Masterpiece" is his beautiful performance and "it was over before the start" because a show doesn't go on forever, there is a beginning middle and end. This means he can't be his character forever.
The second verse is talking about the audience who watches him perform. "They keep mostly to themselves. Don't make a sound in case they hear you" is talking about how the audience judges the actor's performance on stage. But to the actor, they are judging him because he wants to BE his character and not just portray the character. The last line "If this is just a part I portray, I don't know how it got this way" means that he doesn't understand how he got so obsessed with the role.