I know this is going to sound lewd and/or trite, but I think the song is clearly about masturbation, and the closed life that the singer has withdrawn himself to while doing it. "Sir hand, or is it ma'am?": He's not sure whether his hand is male (since it's his hand and he's male) or female (since he was just "intimate" with it). Using his hand for his "companionship" has allowed him to withdraw himself into his "snail shell" without having to interact with the outside world. He even wants to give his own hand "a hand" in return for the pleasure it has given him, but doesn't know how to do it. Every line seems consistent with my interpretation to me.
I know this is going to sound lewd and/or trite, but I think the song is clearly about masturbation, and the closed life that the singer has withdrawn himself to while doing it. "Sir hand, or is it ma'am?": He's not sure whether his hand is male (since it's his hand and he's male) or female (since he was just "intimate" with it). Using his hand for his "companionship" has allowed him to withdraw himself into his "snail shell" without having to interact with the outside world. He even wants to give his own hand "a hand" in return for the pleasure it has given him, but doesn't know how to do it. Every line seems consistent with my interpretation to me.