Maxwell's Silver Hammer

Please, if someone has already posted the pointless opinion that a song is meaningless, or just what it appears to be please do not restate it. It is a perfectly valid point of view, but its in almost every songmeanings review and its tiring. I would also like to point out that the intended meaning of the song is not the only meaning, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, well so is meaning. I do not wish to discourage posting what the band or professional critics have said as it can often grant great insight but it is no one has the final word, meaning is an objective thing, people who deny this are the same type of people who die in religious wars. Also bands have been known to lie about the meaning of a song to avoid admitting the truth (which may be too deeply personal or may even allude to treason). I would also like to point out that written right above the box where you type in your comments it says "what does this song mean to you?". For me the draw to this site is the chance to hear novel theories and gain new perspectives, so having to read through 4 pages of shallow summaries of the song ie "its just about a string of murders" is not fun.

Now then, the song. A friend of mine once suggested that it was about a guy who has sex with lonely virgin girls. He explained that he believed the silver hammer was a euphemism, and that "head" was short for 'maiden head' a term used in old english poetry that means hymen/virginity, and the theme of violence was to play up the bleeding that can occur when the hymen is broken. He also argued that the apparently timid nature of the girl (late nights alone) and the teacher (avoiding unpleasant scenes) support his virgin theory. And that Maxwell's supporters at the court house (rose and valerie) symbolized the willingness of the women he had sex with (even if they may have been jail bait). When I asked him about the judge who is clearly refered to as 'he' my friend admitted that it wasnt a perfect theory and suggested that it might allude to Maxwell's fate in prison after he had been found guilty for the whole jail bait thing. Also I have just noticed that MiracleDrug made some simular arguments for the hammer being a penis back around pg.2.

I would also like to point out the irony that the teacher wished to "avoid an unpleasant scene" and ended up BEING an unpleasant scene (if you take the song litterally)

any ideas on any possiable signifigance of his major? (why medicine? just to rhyme with edison? if thats the case why not change the last name? why edison?)

I also considered that the silver hammer could be the hammer on a gun but the words 'bang, bang' in the song are accompanied by clang noises which don't sound anything like a gun.