Mannequin by HMLTD

Mannequin is a song I enjoyed even before attending Dr. Mintler's doubles and doppelgangers class, but I gained a new appreciation for it afterward.

Cover for the HMLTD EP album which Mannequin is on

Beforehand I imagined it was a literal mannequin in the song with verses such as:

"I found her in the parking lot

By high-end fashion boutique bins

And ever since

We fell in love, I've had the urge

To profit her a wedding ring

But it's the strangest thing

If she were made of flesh and bones

And hair and skin and keratin

Oh, is it such a sin?

But plastic eyes, and plastic limbs

And metal joints and fingertips

Oh, she's a mannequin"

Following expository writing, I've come to realize it may be a metaphor for a prostitute with various cosmetic surgeries. My reasoning is that to give her a wedding ring would imply she's more than a literal, motionless mannequin. I feel this line of thought helps explore the idea that she (the mannequin) is not inanimate. Aside from a motionless mannequin, it could also refer to the mannequin fashion model.

A later verse that helps explore this is the following:

"Her eyes that never judge

Or forge a brand new path

A path that ends in love

But never laugh again

Or she will deep within

I'm just a normal man

She's a mannequin"

Here the idea that the mannequin is a person becomes more clear by the singer saying he is "just a normal man" and that "she's a mannequin". This creates a more person-like relationship in that perhaps rather than it just being absurd to marry an inanimate object, the mannequin is actually too perfect for him. This is reinforced when, a new singer in what I assume is supposed to be the "mannequin", joins in the verse and adds "I would see beneath your ugly skin".