This is a stretch, but after listening to the song a couple of times, this is what I decided:
The narrator Brendon's singing for is a lesbian and the love interest is a semi-closeted polyamorous bisexual girl.
The narrator has decided that she won't date bisexuals, mostly because she believes you can only be monosexual. So she's met this girl that she's really into but she learns that this girl has a boyfriend. She's upset, but she can't let go of her attraction so she keeps trying to get close to the girl ("But if you change your mind, you know where I am"). Her decision to keep pursuing this isn’t what she usually does with bisexual girls thus: "And never did I think that I/Would be caught in the way you caught me. “
The "push another girl aside..." line here I think serves to prep us for the next stanza by being to both the narrator and the love interest. The narrator will learn the love interest is polyamorous and has a girlfriend in the next stanza. This, too, is outside of her dating comfort zone, but she’s willing to be in this kind of relationship if the love interest will give up other girls. On the other hand, the narrator is also trying to talk herself into being completely okay dating this girl even if she's bisexual rather than another lesbian so she’s telling herself to push other girls aside as well.
With that in mind, I feel like the chorus is the narrator trying to come to terms with her feelings and with bisexuality (and to a lesser extent polyamory) as a valid option.
In the second verse, I think the narrator learns not only does the love interest have two partners, but she’s also keeping her girlfriend a secret from most people probably to not be viewed as “the slutty bi girl” ("Pose, you've gotta save your reputation/They're close to finding out about your girlfriend"). It also might be that it’s at the request of the girlfriend who’s not fully out which makes the narrator’s line: "I don't wanna save your reputation" a declaration of one reason she would be a better girlfriend than the love interest’s current one.
The two lines before the chorus basically solidify my interpretation. The narrator feels like a villain for "betraying" her fellow lesbians and wanting a bisexual girl (AKA "a girl who can't decide"). I think the not being able to decide also applies to the idea of polyamory and not choosing one partner over the other.
I know it's probably not what the band intended, but I think it's an interesting alternative perspective to consider.
You know, this is probably the most realistic (however highly unlikely of the artist to mean) interpretation of this song, in my opinion. Nice interpretation.
You know, this is probably the most realistic (however highly unlikely of the artist to mean) interpretation of this song, in my opinion. Nice interpretation.
@spacegirl92 I can't help but disagree with you. There is contextual evidence that clashes with this interpretation, namely "I don't wanna be your boyfriend" (why would a lesbian say that) also I think a threesome type situation is implied I don't see any real evidence supporting any polyamouris relationship or anything saying that she has a boyfriend. While certainly interesting and creative it clashes too much with the lyrical evidence
@spacegirl92 I can't help but disagree with you. There is contextual evidence that clashes with this interpretation, namely "I don't wanna be your boyfriend" (why would a lesbian say that) also I think a threesome type situation is implied I don't see any real evidence supporting any polyamouris relationship or anything saying that she has a boyfriend. While certainly interesting and creative it clashes too much with the lyrical evidence
This is a stretch, but after listening to the song a couple of times, this is what I decided:
The narrator Brendon's singing for is a lesbian and the love interest is a semi-closeted polyamorous bisexual girl.
The narrator has decided that she won't date bisexuals, mostly because she believes you can only be monosexual. So she's met this girl that she's really into but she learns that this girl has a boyfriend. She's upset, but she can't let go of her attraction so she keeps trying to get close to the girl ("But if you change your mind, you know where I am"). Her decision to keep pursuing this isn’t what she usually does with bisexual girls thus: "And never did I think that I/Would be caught in the way you caught me. “
The "push another girl aside..." line here I think serves to prep us for the next stanza by being to both the narrator and the love interest. The narrator will learn the love interest is polyamorous and has a girlfriend in the next stanza. This, too, is outside of her dating comfort zone, but she’s willing to be in this kind of relationship if the love interest will give up other girls. On the other hand, the narrator is also trying to talk herself into being completely okay dating this girl even if she's bisexual rather than another lesbian so she’s telling herself to push other girls aside as well.
With that in mind, I feel like the chorus is the narrator trying to come to terms with her feelings and with bisexuality (and to a lesser extent polyamory) as a valid option.
In the second verse, I think the narrator learns not only does the love interest have two partners, but she’s also keeping her girlfriend a secret from most people probably to not be viewed as “the slutty bi girl” ("Pose, you've gotta save your reputation/They're close to finding out about your girlfriend"). It also might be that it’s at the request of the girlfriend who’s not fully out which makes the narrator’s line: "I don't wanna save your reputation" a declaration of one reason she would be a better girlfriend than the love interest’s current one.
The two lines before the chorus basically solidify my interpretation. The narrator feels like a villain for "betraying" her fellow lesbians and wanting a bisexual girl (AKA "a girl who can't decide"). I think the not being able to decide also applies to the idea of polyamory and not choosing one partner over the other.
I know it's probably not what the band intended, but I think it's an interesting alternative perspective to consider.
You know, this is probably the most realistic (however highly unlikely of the artist to mean) interpretation of this song, in my opinion. Nice interpretation.
You know, this is probably the most realistic (however highly unlikely of the artist to mean) interpretation of this song, in my opinion. Nice interpretation.
I like how your interpretation of the lyric "But if you change your mind, you know where I am" differs from what others have said.
I like how your interpretation of the lyric "But if you change your mind, you know where I am" differs from what others have said.
@spacegirl92 I can't help but disagree with you. There is contextual evidence that clashes with this interpretation, namely "I don't wanna be your boyfriend" (why would a lesbian say that) also I think a threesome type situation is implied I don't see any real evidence supporting any polyamouris relationship or anything saying that she has a boyfriend. While certainly interesting and creative it clashes too much with the lyrical evidence
@spacegirl92 I can't help but disagree with you. There is contextual evidence that clashes with this interpretation, namely "I don't wanna be your boyfriend" (why would a lesbian say that) also I think a threesome type situation is implied I don't see any real evidence supporting any polyamouris relationship or anything saying that she has a boyfriend. While certainly interesting and creative it clashes too much with the lyrical evidence