The other comment seems to very much sum up the song, and a nice meaning it is too. I just want to note the imagery he uses in the lyrics. You can tell this is one of the Britpop influenced songs, well, Pulp influenced anyway. The sparse and mundane description of where the character of the song is reminds me of the whole Kitchen Sink style lyrics Pulp and Suede sometimes use. Even the name 'Drugstore Purfume' reminds me of an American version of British council estate (or something along those lines). Gerard said Hesitant Alien is very much an American Britpop album, this song in particular seems to encapsulate that.
So yeah, a song about escaping your roots/social mobility and finding your dreams, not letting other people shit all over you and believing in yourself. Whoop!
The other comment seems to very much sum up the song, and a nice meaning it is too. I just want to note the imagery he uses in the lyrics. You can tell this is one of the Britpop influenced songs, well, Pulp influenced anyway. The sparse and mundane description of where the character of the song is reminds me of the whole Kitchen Sink style lyrics Pulp and Suede sometimes use. Even the name 'Drugstore Purfume' reminds me of an American version of British council estate (or something along those lines). Gerard said Hesitant Alien is very much an American Britpop album, this song in particular seems to encapsulate that.
So yeah, a song about escaping your roots/social mobility and finding your dreams, not letting other people shit all over you and believing in yourself. Whoop!