This is a very clever song with many layers of metaphors and it isn't about Candy at all, the song is about Mr. Howell.
In one metaphor, Candy is a sex doll and the rats are both literal rats that have eaten "a hole in her navel," but they also represent Mr. Howell's self pity. In a deeper metaphor, Candy is a prostitute and the rats are her STDs.
"Candy Girl" is the name of a high end Japanese sex doll. "a door on her thighs" refers to the openings built into the doll that are used to clean it.
Mr. Howell is lonely and craves human interaction. Full of self pity, he buys Candy (the doll, or the hooker). The ugly price tag is the $7,000 (according to Wikipedia) that the doll costs, and the STDs you get from having sex with a prostitute.
In both metaphors, Candy is used up, in poor shape, and has little value other than as an object to have sex with. Mr Howell recognizes that Candy is not the deep human connection that he craves. Howell want more than sex, and struggles with an internal conflict in which he chooses meaningless, superficial (and potentially dangerous) sex over the pain of loneliness.
The lines about the rats "not living inside her face" allude to the fact that he doesn't truly desire Candy, but he is settling for her/it temporarily.
The rats are not calling Candy "mother." When they say "mother" they are referring to Mr. Howell. Everything that Candy is, exists only in Mr. Howells imagination. The imaginary dinner he is having with this doll so that he can feel less lonely, for example.
The shit eating grin refers to the face one makes during orgasm.
After the imaginary date is over, he's satisfied his sexual urges, wakes up the next morning and everything he'd imagined the night before is gone ("the paintings, the jewels, the songs") and he is back in reality.
His regret and disgust are alluded to in the letter the rats left for him to read the next morning (addressing him as Mother again). We know the letter is for him because Candy is essentially gone at this point. In the other metaphor, the Prostitute robs him.
Three weeks later he starts to feel the same desires and self pity. This is when he sees the rats on a bicycle, screaming for a vacancy, or in other words, someone or something he can direct his superficial desires towards. This is when the cycle continues.
That is why Candy is both a Prostitute and a sex doll. It's a cycle of loneliness and lust that Mr. Howell is going through. One week he uses an old ragged doll, another week he uses a prostitute.
This is a very clever song with many layers of metaphors and it isn't about Candy at all, the song is about Mr. Howell.
In one metaphor, Candy is a sex doll and the rats are both literal rats that have eaten "a hole in her navel," but they also represent Mr. Howell's self pity. In a deeper metaphor, Candy is a prostitute and the rats are her STDs.
"Candy Girl" is the name of a high end Japanese sex doll. "a door on her thighs" refers to the openings built into the doll that are used to clean it.
Mr. Howell is lonely and craves human interaction. Full of self pity, he buys Candy (the doll, or the hooker). The ugly price tag is the $7,000 (according to Wikipedia) that the doll costs, and the STDs you get from having sex with a prostitute.
In both metaphors, Candy is used up, in poor shape, and has little value other than as an object to have sex with. Mr Howell recognizes that Candy is not the deep human connection that he craves. Howell want more than sex, and struggles with an internal conflict in which he chooses meaningless, superficial (and potentially dangerous) sex over the pain of loneliness.
The lines about the rats "not living inside her face" allude to the fact that he doesn't truly desire Candy, but he is settling for her/it temporarily.
The rats are not calling Candy "mother." When they say "mother" they are referring to Mr. Howell. Everything that Candy is, exists only in Mr. Howells imagination. The imaginary dinner he is having with this doll so that he can feel less lonely, for example.
The shit eating grin refers to the face one makes during orgasm.
After the imaginary date is over, he's satisfied his sexual urges, wakes up the next morning and everything he'd imagined the night before is gone ("the paintings, the jewels, the songs") and he is back in reality.
His regret and disgust are alluded to in the letter the rats left for him to read the next morning (addressing him as Mother again). We know the letter is for him because Candy is essentially gone at this point. In the other metaphor, the Prostitute robs him.
Three weeks later he starts to feel the same desires and self pity. This is when he sees the rats on a bicycle, screaming for a vacancy, or in other words, someone or something he can direct his superficial desires towards. This is when the cycle continues.
That is why Candy is both a Prostitute and a sex doll. It's a cycle of loneliness and lust that Mr. Howell is going through. One week he uses an old ragged doll, another week he uses a prostitute.