This song is very disturbing, and it's meant to be. It's meant to cause a righteous churning in your stomach and does a good job at it. As others have pointed out it's obviously a woman talking about her inappropriate relationship with a family man. The protagonist knows what she's doing is wrong but she can't help herself, hell she doesn't even try to resist. She LIKES that he's married, it makes him more desirable.
There are a few tools that Utada uses to increase the drama and morally disturbing effect of the song. First there's the suggestion of willful and knowing transgression. E.g. she call's her thoughts of him "improper visions", she says to "be careful when you close the door", because she knows that he's "married and has a family too". She knows what she's doing could ruin these peoples lives but she doesn't care, at least not enough to stop. Second, this willful commission of sin is made even more disturbing by her evident religious hypocrisy, referring to her sexual fantasies as "visions" she references how "heaven knows she needs a prayer", and even directs the adulterer to "pray that they (his family) don't hear" him -as if God would cooperate with such a request and assist their schemes! Third, there's the suggestion that she's to some extent praying on the man's vulnerabilities, saying "What a perfect life they think you've got, right?/Problems kept inside, look neat and organized/What you need in life is some wonder/A new friend with visions like you". She is actively seducing this guy, telling him that she sympathizes with his pressures, she understands the real him while his family neglects and misunderstands his feelings; she suggests that she is the solution to these feelings, that she can comfort him if he'll spend some time with her and indulge the "improper visions" they both have. Fourth and last point, she even admits to herself that she isn't serious about this guy; she doesn't even try to justify her actions by saying she loves him but calls their affair "a great INTERLUDE". She has no intention of turning this into a committed relationship, for her this is a fling and nothing more. She worries that "once the thrill subsides" for the guy he may stop seeing her, but regardless either way she fully plans to stop seeing him once the thrill subsides for her or once he's caught by his wife and his family leaves him.
It's also worth noting that the music's tone adds to the drama and disturbing atmosphere as well. The base drum adds a sensuality to the song. The synthesizers, however, darken that sensuality with sounds that could have come out of a horror movie, note for example the dark droning sound just before the line "improper visions of you", it really heightens the dark atmosphere.
This song is very disturbing, and it's meant to be. It's meant to cause a righteous churning in your stomach and does a good job at it. As others have pointed out it's obviously a woman talking about her inappropriate relationship with a family man. The protagonist knows what she's doing is wrong but she can't help herself, hell she doesn't even try to resist. She LIKES that he's married, it makes him more desirable.
There are a few tools that Utada uses to increase the drama and morally disturbing effect of the song. First there's the suggestion of willful and knowing transgression. E.g. she call's her thoughts of him "improper visions", she says to "be careful when you close the door", because she knows that he's "married and has a family too". She knows what she's doing could ruin these peoples lives but she doesn't care, at least not enough to stop. Second, this willful commission of sin is made even more disturbing by her evident religious hypocrisy, referring to her sexual fantasies as "visions" she references how "heaven knows she needs a prayer", and even directs the adulterer to "pray that they (his family) don't hear" him -as if God would cooperate with such a request and assist their schemes! Third, there's the suggestion that she's to some extent praying on the man's vulnerabilities, saying "What a perfect life they think you've got, right?/Problems kept inside, look neat and organized/What you need in life is some wonder/A new friend with visions like you". She is actively seducing this guy, telling him that she sympathizes with his pressures, she understands the real him while his family neglects and misunderstands his feelings; she suggests that she is the solution to these feelings, that she can comfort him if he'll spend some time with her and indulge the "improper visions" they both have. Fourth and last point, she even admits to herself that she isn't serious about this guy; she doesn't even try to justify her actions by saying she loves him but calls their affair "a great INTERLUDE". She has no intention of turning this into a committed relationship, for her this is a fling and nothing more. She worries that "once the thrill subsides" for the guy he may stop seeing her, but regardless either way she fully plans to stop seeing him once the thrill subsides for her or once he's caught by his wife and his family leaves him.
It's also worth noting that the music's tone adds to the drama and disturbing atmosphere as well. The base drum adds a sensuality to the song. The synthesizers, however, darken that sensuality with sounds that could have come out of a horror movie, note for example the dark droning sound just before the line "improper visions of you", it really heightens the dark atmosphere.