I'd love to pretend I figured this out myself, but I'm taking this from interviews with Jarvis Cocker.

Firstly, the song is based on not only porn films, but a pornographic outlook on life. With celebrity comes the idea that people viewing from the outside see a seperate version of you, like actors in a porm movie. People see perfection (or, as Jarvis put it "massive biceps and a two-foot-long cock) but somehow, inside, you're still a person.

Also the idea that your life is more real when everything looks perfect - "Leave your make-up on and i'll leave on the light" shows that this isn't sex for love, it's sex for dramatic effect.

Anyway. That's what I got from stuff Jarvis said about it in interviews.♥

Deep Eyez, that's brilliant. It really makes sense.

Well I see this song from quite a different prespective.
The lyrics clearly describe a sexual encounter, however I think the song is about revenge.
She used to mean a lot to him in the past, but somehow let him down, so he seduces her all over again just to end up sadistically announcing to her that it meant absolutely nothing and he just used her to get off.
I think the way he sings - almost whispering some of the lyrics with an evil tone, while brutally spitting out others, shows bitterness, cynicism and subterranean hate rather than desire for another person.
Also the atmosphere of the song is sinister, melancholic and vicious rather than sexual or inviting.
"It's what men in stained raincoats pay for": he compares what just happened between them to the cheapest of porn.
"Oh, what a hell of a show But what I want to know
What exactly do you do for an encore?": he sarcastically tells her to her face that she was nothing but a pleasurable yet meaningless sexual object to him.
All in all to me this is about emotionless sex for the purpose of belittling the other person and feeling superior:"There is no way back for you Oh this is Hardcore This is me on top of you And I can't believe it took me this long".
Anyway it's a gorgeous song either way.

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Most of you guys have taken a literal interpretation to this song but there is more to it than that. This is Hardcore was the first follow-up album to Different Class, which was the first Album that gave Pulp huge commercial success. For years, since Jarvis was 15, he had been trying to make it as a rockstar, giving his whole life, dreaming about it, and then he made it. And with it, all of the problems. He found it not as fulfilling as he dreamed. He reached the pinnacle, and now he's like, what now? I heard he got into drugs to which was bad. But that's gossip, so I don't know for sure. The rock n roll life style can mess you up. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana had many of the same feelings, he said that he was happier before he made it big, when he was with his friends and they would dream about making it as rock stars.

From what I sense about this song, it does seem a bit like the singer is on the powerful side, exploitative side. I think it's about the movie, music, or porn industry. Making your way to the big top by doing some things you're not proud of, like sleeping with the director to get into a film, or starting your movie career by doing porn. "Oh, here comes the hardcore life," meaning that she's in too far, now. She's become a part of the industry's market, in which she'll be exploited as most celebrities are. "You got to take these dreams and make them whole. Oh, this is Hardcore. There is no way back for you. Oh this is Hardcore. This is me on top of you." That does sound rather sinister, doesn't it? She dreamed of getting her name out there, but she's completely caught up in the drama of the business, controlled by the demands of the media and the film makers, maybe music producers. Then, her career is washed up. The media's gotten all it wants out of her, and her career, like most was quick. "This is the end of the line. I've seen the storyline played out so many times before." The "that goes in there" repetition is emphasizing how mundane it all is, it's a wham-bam-thank you mam sort of situation.

So, Jarvis's part is almost like the perspective of the industry, looking for fresh meat, seducing young women, then chewing them up and spitting them out. It's almost a mocking tone. Maybe this is the sort of thing he had to deal with as a singer. It's all very shallow, devious, and exploitative. You can't make it unless you've got what it takes, because it's "hardcore."

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Pretty much the filthiest song ever...not just the lyrics, but the music. Love it!

this song makes me think of a dude who makes a porno with some chick and never sees her again...