This is a song about the cycle of abuse. a mermaid in a pair of jeans is counter-productive. These jeans of "his" with "her name" still on it - we see his mother referenced at the end of the song - it's clear the mother makes the boyfriend feel the way he is treating his girlfriend "mother shows up in a nasty dress... now you stand where i stand - the jeans are a metaphor for abuse - smothering the beauty and the wonderment of the 'mermaid" . There is a lot going on in this song. The dog has witnessed the abuse and has become violent, the girl gets saved from verbal abuse when the garbage truck arrives (an antithetical hero) at one point, she indicates that she may be pregnant. Makes references to heaven and has 25 bucks "is it enough to get us there" possibly having an abortion, sending the baby up to heaven and ending the cycle of abuse. toward the end of the song, she begins to speak not to the listener but to the boyfriend - one more casualty, you know we're too easy... the baby in question, the girl and the boyfriend are all casualties of circumstance - the sky is falling - the boyfriend is being made aware but she pities him the way she pities herself.
This is a song about the cycle of abuse. a mermaid in a pair of jeans is counter-productive. These jeans of "his" with "her name" still on it - we see his mother referenced at the end of the song - it's clear the mother makes the boyfriend feel the way he is treating his girlfriend "mother shows up in a nasty dress... now you stand where i stand - the jeans are a metaphor for abuse - smothering the beauty and the wonderment of the 'mermaid" . There is a lot going on in this song. The dog has witnessed the abuse and has become violent, the girl gets saved from verbal abuse when the garbage truck arrives (an antithetical hero) at one point, she indicates that she may be pregnant. Makes references to heaven and has 25 bucks "is it enough to get us there" possibly having an abortion, sending the baby up to heaven and ending the cycle of abuse. toward the end of the song, she begins to speak not to the listener but to the boyfriend - one more casualty, you know we're too easy... the baby in question, the girl and the boyfriend are all casualties of circumstance - the sky is falling - the boyfriend is being made aware but she pities him the way she pities herself.