I think this song is more metaphorical than some of you seem to believe. I believe this song is about a girl who was abused somehow although not necessarily in a sexual way. She has grown up to believe there's more evil in people then what's on the surface; essentially, she sees people for who (she thinks) they really are.
She's given up on what she probably believes to be a naive "childhood-like" optimism, and instead feels lost. Although she keeps managing to carry on time and again, she can't help but feel her life is spiraling into a world ruled by her own inner demons. However, her childhood likely wasn't all bad; she seems to wish she could just go back to being a little girl, and tries desperately to hold on to what she had before.
Because she's had these issues her whole life, she's had to force herself to think of them as "normal". She's learned it's better to hide these issues, giving the false appearance of strength, presumably out of fear of rejection; when people learn more about her issues, they reject her. Thus, she's perpetually forced to keep her cool (at least in appearance), or risk being an outcast.
However, what she really wants is someone to emotionally "hide" behind. Thus, she's "seeking" someone who will make her troubles go away. I believe the phone call is a prime example of this: if the occasion arrives, in which she finally starts to trust someone enough to tell him/her about her life, and that someone turns on her, she attempts to put on a tough-girl act, claiming she'd rather be hated than pitied.
I think this song is more metaphorical than some of you seem to believe. I believe this song is about a girl who was abused somehow although not necessarily in a sexual way. She has grown up to believe there's more evil in people then what's on the surface; essentially, she sees people for who (she thinks) they really are.
She's given up on what she probably believes to be a naive "childhood-like" optimism, and instead feels lost. Although she keeps managing to carry on time and again, she can't help but feel her life is spiraling into a world ruled by her own inner demons. However, her childhood likely wasn't all bad; she seems to wish she could just go back to being a little girl, and tries desperately to hold on to what she had before.
Because she's had these issues her whole life, she's had to force herself to think of them as "normal". She's learned it's better to hide these issues, giving the false appearance of strength, presumably out of fear of rejection; when people learn more about her issues, they reject her. Thus, she's perpetually forced to keep her cool (at least in appearance), or risk being an outcast.
However, what she really wants is someone to emotionally "hide" behind. Thus, she's "seeking" someone who will make her troubles go away. I believe the phone call is a prime example of this: if the occasion arrives, in which she finally starts to trust someone enough to tell him/her about her life, and that someone turns on her, she attempts to put on a tough-girl act, claiming she'd rather be hated than pitied.