The opening line“You’re not human,” states the aim of the following descriptions, laying the format of the upcoming stanzas, first “You’re a miracle” then “A preacher with an animal’s face.” As the stanzas unfold it becomes clear that he’s talking about two separate individuals, both a side of the same coin; those seeking vanity and those seeking holiness, each through self-mutilation that makes them inhuman.
The lyric progresses through descriptions of what each have to gain, commentary reflecting on the nature of beliefs each of their peers hold regarding their actions, onward toward anticipation and completion of their respective surgeries. The lyric hints at several themes, from pursuit of vanity to quiet remarks that may be referring to Los Angeles (Vanity Fair is from the album titled California) with references to supersalesmen and neon lights.
With lines like:
“Will you hurt me now and make a million?
Say cheese, baby
We all love you
But it's a cheap world and you don't exist... “
it isn’t hard to see that the author’s view of each of these actions is leaning towards negative, if not outright revulsion and disdain, if not mocking with lines from the third and fourth stanzas respectively, “Even your shadow worships you “, and “With the orgies of the sacrament,” each pointing to pursuits of vanity, adulation, and recognition for extreme, albeit surface level changes.
The opening line“You’re not human,” states the aim of the following descriptions, laying the format of the upcoming stanzas, first “You’re a miracle” then “A preacher with an animal’s face.” As the stanzas unfold it becomes clear that he’s talking about two separate individuals, both a side of the same coin; those seeking vanity and those seeking holiness, each through self-mutilation that makes them inhuman.
With lines like:
“Will you hurt me now and make a million? Say cheese, baby We all love you But it's a cheap world and you don't exist... “
it isn’t hard to see that the author’s view of each of these actions is leaning towards negative, if not outright revulsion and disdain, if not mocking with lines from the third and fourth stanzas respectively, “Even your shadow worships you “, and “With the orgies of the sacrament,” each pointing to pursuits of vanity, adulation, and recognition for extreme, albeit surface level changes.