Interpretations:I Am Alone

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Bathroom shooting

This song is interesting in that the way I interpret it makes it a very very dark song. Let me explain

To me, the song seems to be about a man who's about to shoot himself talking to himself in the bathroom mirror. In the song it sounds to me like he's personifying his mixed emotions by applying them to his reflections. The pov in this song is of the part of him that doesn't want to die trying to convince the part of him that does want to die to not pull the trigger. Hence the whole "lower our weapons" thing.

As he's trying to convince the depressed part of his brain to not shoot, he does this in a rather jovial manner. and to fit the narrative the man has put together in his head, all of this takes place in a setting you'd see in a James Bond film or something of the like.

Hou (talk) 00:32, 18 June 2016 (EDT)

There is so much spy imagery in this song that it makes sense to look for an interpretation within that genre, and there's a good one, IMO. There's a scene in Goldfinger where Bond get's "outfoxed" in a car chase, by a group of mirrors that makes him think he needs to stop to avoid a car crash. I suspect there may be a different, but similar Bond scene where he is searching, with raised gun, for a bad guy his apartment or such, and simply is suddenly surprised by multiple views of himself in a folding mirror. (If anyone knows of such a scene, let us know.)

The lyrics quite clearly fit with such a scene, but they also lead to the realisation "I am alone," which though reassuring in the context, is the kind of philosophical realization that can be pretty unnerving when you dwell on it -- very Linnelian, if you will.

Mirror Delusion

If you think that Montana is a leg, and if a group of flowers on the side of a mountain seems to you like they are spelling out a message, then you might think that person in the mirror is a stranger (danger! draw a gun!) or your brother. Linnell must have an encyclopedia of psychological disorders that he keeps as bedside reading. --Nehushtan (talk) 18:58, 26 September 2019 (EDT)

Loneliness translated into absurdity

I think this song is about a lonely person looking into a 3-way mirror, maybe contemplating it but the song makes it seem absurd-silly by turning it into them singing about spy movie-related things.

Having fun with mirrors

I think this is a song simply about the simple fun and crazy scenarios you can create when you're looking at yourself in a mirror, amplified by there being several. This is why the characters in the lyrics are always in stand-offs, outwitting each other, or changing their identities suddenly; it's one person having fun with their multiple reflections as if they were different people. 143.59.69.108 13:00, 22 September 2022 (EDT)

Paranoia and Mental Illness

I see this song as being about paranoia given a humorous twist with spy movie tropes. I'll break it down via the lyrics to show what I mean:

Thank you for going back in time And thwarting my assassin And while we’re laughing about it I know you didn’t really do that This was a test and you failed

We start with both a second person aside from our unreliable narrator, and an imagined assassination plot. Note how although it starts with the narrator thanking whoever he's talking to, it's only to immediately accuse them, revealing the time-travel and murder affair to be just a test, meant to catch the other guy in an 'ah-ha!' moment that spy and mystery dramas so often employ. The tone is set. Our narrator is very distrustful and imagines themself as being caught up in a web of intrigue and danger.

Before you fire I should inform you One of us is a double I took the trouble to swap ties Somebody taps you on the shoulder You don't know who is your friend

Anticipating to be shot, the narrator further complicates things with an imposter amongst his current company. He'd swapped ties with someone to make sure and everything. The last two lines express a general atmosphere of unease and paranoia. The swapped ties is another cheeky reference to spy movie tropes.

Let’s all just take a deep breath And slowly lower our weapons to the floor

This is our friend trying to de-escalate or defuse the situation soon after accusing someone of being a double agent. He's clearly in a paranoid fantasy but he's still willing to at least appear reasonable. It's not like he wants to shoot someone or be shot. I am alone in the three part folding mirror On the bathroom door I am alone in the three part folding mirror On the bathroom door

The chorus makes things interesting. In a moment of clarity, the narrator realizes he's alone. He's in his bathroom, faced by a three-part mirror. This doesn't last, however.

Everyone take off your disguises I see you and your brother Dressed as each other this time So now it appears the double crossers Have been too clever by half

Now he thinks the people around him are in disguise, and he's holding this up as another triumph over his imaginary rivals.

The fox has been outfoxed again The row of smug expressions All arrayed around are wiped away so

Now he thinks he's cracked the code. He's exposed the plot and triumphed over the conspirators. Just as their smug grins leave their faces, the chorus repeats. He's back in front of the mirror, and there are no enemy agents around or assassination plots to foil.