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.
Image result for mannequin hmltd lyrics
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".

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