I think that ye-interpreter pretty much got it. In the beginning, when he's asking his girlfriend who is about to leave him "Is that supposed to be your poker face
Or was someone run over by a train"
He had already started his drinking, which causes him to mould his thoughts to believe that she is the one who desperately needs him while it's obviously the opposite.
"And it's running back and forth inside your mind
Just how that town defined you
Dressed you up, painted your face"
Here, I believe that the narrator is telling his girlfriend this as reasoning to why she should stay (because they're used to being there and they'll miss things about it) but I also think that this is a major reason that he doesn't want to go with his girlfriend if she does leave.
"You're awake and trying not to be
Wrapped around your pillow like a prawn
And the nighttime's wrapped around you
Will be until it drops you on the dawn
From the C train to the shiny tower
Kicked around 'til happy hour found you
Where you can drink that smirk right off your face"
This is the narrator speaking to himself in third person, showing his girlfriend how she was wrong but only proving the point further that he's the one who needs her. He also tells himself here that if there's ever pain or uncertainty, drinking is something you can turn to
"And here is your reflection
In a building uptown
A ghost inside some Madison Avenue display"
At this point, his girlfriend is already gone and he still imagines seeing her wherever he looks.
"And the bourbon sits inside me
Right now I'm a puppet in its sway
And it may be the whiskey talking
But the whiskey says I miss you every day"
Here, the narrator realises his drinking problem and faces the fact that he misses his girlfriend, but tries to blame those feelings on his drinking
"So I taxi to an all-night party
Park me in the corner in an old chair
Sip my drink and stare out into space"
Finally, as the narrator is conflicted between feelings of loneliness and the need to not be wrong, he goes to a party so he can drown out unpleasant feelings, thus perpetuating his drinking problem and further ignoring his true feelings so that he may never be hurt but what he doesn't realise is that he's inadvertently hurting himself every time he tries to escape his pain.
I think that ye-interpreter pretty much got it. In the beginning, when he's asking his girlfriend who is about to leave him "Is that supposed to be your poker face Or was someone run over by a train" He had already started his drinking, which causes him to mould his thoughts to believe that she is the one who desperately needs him while it's obviously the opposite.
"And it's running back and forth inside your mind Just how that town defined you Dressed you up, painted your face" Here, I believe that the narrator is telling his girlfriend this as reasoning to why she should stay (because they're used to being there and they'll miss things about it) but I also think that this is a major reason that he doesn't want to go with his girlfriend if she does leave.
"You're awake and trying not to be Wrapped around your pillow like a prawn And the nighttime's wrapped around you Will be until it drops you on the dawn From the C train to the shiny tower Kicked around 'til happy hour found you Where you can drink that smirk right off your face" This is the narrator speaking to himself in third person, showing his girlfriend how she was wrong but only proving the point further that he's the one who needs her. He also tells himself here that if there's ever pain or uncertainty, drinking is something you can turn to
"And here is your reflection In a building uptown A ghost inside some Madison Avenue display" At this point, his girlfriend is already gone and he still imagines seeing her wherever he looks.
"And the bourbon sits inside me Right now I'm a puppet in its sway And it may be the whiskey talking But the whiskey says I miss you every day" Here, the narrator realises his drinking problem and faces the fact that he misses his girlfriend, but tries to blame those feelings on his drinking
"So I taxi to an all-night party Park me in the corner in an old chair Sip my drink and stare out into space" Finally, as the narrator is conflicted between feelings of loneliness and the need to not be wrong, he goes to a party so he can drown out unpleasant feelings, thus perpetuating his drinking problem and further ignoring his true feelings so that he may never be hurt but what he doesn't realise is that he's inadvertently hurting himself every time he tries to escape his pain.