I thought I might also go through stanza b stanza or thought by thought, and try and show in more detail why I look at the song the way I do. I'm going to proceed under the assumption that it is about a guy girl relationship, even though you could potentially apply it to other relationships (such as in the video). Also, I think the video is helpful in understanding the lyrics, but that doesn't mean that the song is therefore about obsessive fandom, although it could include that interpretation. I think the song can apply to romantic relationships.
--------I'm gonna pick up the pieces
And build a Lego house
When things go wrong we can knock it down--------
The treating of the relationship like a Lego House makes me think a few different things - the persona has a childlike approach to relationship, as something you can 'assemble' out of the the broken pieces of the previous iteration. The line "When things go wrong we can knock it down" reinforces this - like playing with lego as a child, you just smash the whole thing and start over if it doesn't satisfy. Relationships don't work like that.
---My three words have two meanings
There's one thing on my mind, it's all for you---
One of the more opaque lines, but I think it might have something to do with the two faces the persona wears in the relationship. 'I love you' or similar is said in a way that is supposed to appeal to the partner, make them believe he cares and puts her first, but it can also mean that he obsesses over her, and it is about him controlling or directing the relationship in a way that it is most about his personal satisfaction.
---And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got ya to keep me warm
And if you're broken I'll mend ya
And keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on now---
A strange line, given much of the song is about her not being with him. Perhaps he is still pretending she is with him, imaging her with him, keeping him warm (again, about his personal satisfaction). His idea of the relationship is about 'fixing' the other person, and about sheltering from the storm. What is the storm? Is it an allusion to his own problems, perhaps?
----I'm out of touch, I'm out of love
I'll pick you up when you're getting down
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now---
Possibly the most lucid part of the song, but again, he seems to be in two places - one where he knows the relationship is over, but is still pretending it is on, that he can 'pick you up when you're getting down'. Also interesting that he knows it is the things he has done that have been bad, and he declares he now loves her better now. The lines in the verses, however, betray that he hasn't really learned anything.
-------I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind
I'll do it all for you in time
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now----
Again, the relationship is over, he's out of sight and mind (she doesn't even know about him anymore, he is no longer in his thoughts), but still believes eventually they will be together "in time"
---I'm gonna paint you by numbers and color you in
If things go right we can frame it, and put you on a wall----
Is she a trophy, now, that he wants her on his metaphorical wall? Someone that you can paint by numbers to get "just right"? His view of the relationship here becomes even more disturbed.
----And it's so hard to say it but I've been here before
And I'll surrender up my heart and swap it for yours---
This is not the first time this has happened - the cyclical relationship of the song is reinforced, and the rest of the song makes clear the person has not learned from his prior mistakes. The surrending of the heart superficially sounds nice, but it has a dissonant ring to it - does he just want to possess her heart? To have some piece or aspect of her for his own? What does surrendering up his heart here even mean?
----Don't hold me down,
I think my braces are breaking and it's more than I can take----
The first image I had of these lines was of a mental asylum, where more extreme patients can, or historically could, be held down and restrained with braces, usually so they could be sedated without harming themselves or other people. The persona here is losing self control, threatening to become overpowering.
And then a few more choruses.
A very nice song, and deceptively pretty sounding, but I think deeply subversive.
I thought I might also go through stanza b stanza or thought by thought, and try and show in more detail why I look at the song the way I do. I'm going to proceed under the assumption that it is about a guy girl relationship, even though you could potentially apply it to other relationships (such as in the video). Also, I think the video is helpful in understanding the lyrics, but that doesn't mean that the song is therefore about obsessive fandom, although it could include that interpretation. I think the song can apply to romantic relationships.
--------I'm gonna pick up the pieces And build a Lego house When things go wrong we can knock it down--------
The treating of the relationship like a Lego House makes me think a few different things - the persona has a childlike approach to relationship, as something you can 'assemble' out of the the broken pieces of the previous iteration. The line "When things go wrong we can knock it down" reinforces this - like playing with lego as a child, you just smash the whole thing and start over if it doesn't satisfy. Relationships don't work like that.
---My three words have two meanings There's one thing on my mind, it's all for you---
One of the more opaque lines, but I think it might have something to do with the two faces the persona wears in the relationship. 'I love you' or similar is said in a way that is supposed to appeal to the partner, make them believe he cares and puts her first, but it can also mean that he obsesses over her, and it is about him controlling or directing the relationship in a way that it is most about his personal satisfaction.
---And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got ya to keep me warm And if you're broken I'll mend ya And keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on now---
A strange line, given much of the song is about her not being with him. Perhaps he is still pretending she is with him, imaging her with him, keeping him warm (again, about his personal satisfaction). His idea of the relationship is about 'fixing' the other person, and about sheltering from the storm. What is the storm? Is it an allusion to his own problems, perhaps?
----I'm out of touch, I'm out of love I'll pick you up when you're getting down And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now---
Possibly the most lucid part of the song, but again, he seems to be in two places - one where he knows the relationship is over, but is still pretending it is on, that he can 'pick you up when you're getting down'. Also interesting that he knows it is the things he has done that have been bad, and he declares he now loves her better now. The lines in the verses, however, betray that he hasn't really learned anything.
-------I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind I'll do it all for you in time And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now----
Again, the relationship is over, he's out of sight and mind (she doesn't even know about him anymore, he is no longer in his thoughts), but still believes eventually they will be together "in time"
---I'm gonna paint you by numbers and color you in If things go right we can frame it, and put you on a wall----
Is she a trophy, now, that he wants her on his metaphorical wall? Someone that you can paint by numbers to get "just right"? His view of the relationship here becomes even more disturbed.
----And it's so hard to say it but I've been here before And I'll surrender up my heart and swap it for yours---
This is not the first time this has happened - the cyclical relationship of the song is reinforced, and the rest of the song makes clear the person has not learned from his prior mistakes. The surrending of the heart superficially sounds nice, but it has a dissonant ring to it - does he just want to possess her heart? To have some piece or aspect of her for his own? What does surrendering up his heart here even mean?
----Don't hold me down, I think my braces are breaking and it's more than I can take----
The first image I had of these lines was of a mental asylum, where more extreme patients can, or historically could, be held down and restrained with braces, usually so they could be sedated without harming themselves or other people. The persona here is losing self control, threatening to become overpowering.
And then a few more choruses.
A very nice song, and deceptively pretty sounding, but I think deeply subversive.