Hard Candy is a metaphor to a past girlfriend in this song and represents both his nostalgia (something he longs for in the past) and also something that's sweet but is bad for him.
The main character spends the song looking back on the memories he had with his girlfriend, which makes him feel good in the moment but overall prevents him from moving on.
Example from the chorus:
"And when you sleep you find your mother in the night
But she stays just out of sight so there isn't any sweetness in the dreaming"
Meaning: He finds comfort in his dreams (the type he would get from his mother), but then again since they are just dreams, the comfort and sweetness are just an illusion
"And when you wake the morning covers you with light
and it makes you feel alright but it's just the same hard candy you're
remembering again"
Meaning: His dreams about his love make him feel good when he wakes up, but then reality hits him and it ends up making him feel worse – it's sweet but bad for you, just like hard candy.
One of my all-time favorite songs, the nostalgic melody matches the lyrics perfectly.
Hard Candy is a metaphor to a past girlfriend in this song and represents both his nostalgia (something he longs for in the past) and also something that's sweet but is bad for him.
The main character spends the song looking back on the memories he had with his girlfriend, which makes him feel good in the moment but overall prevents him from moving on.
Example from the chorus:
"And when you sleep you find your mother in the night But she stays just out of sight so there isn't any sweetness in the dreaming"
Meaning: He finds comfort in his dreams (the type he would get from his mother), but then again since they are just dreams, the comfort and sweetness are just an illusion
"And when you wake the morning covers you with light and it makes you feel alright but it's just the same hard candy you're remembering again"
Meaning: His dreams about his love make him feel good when he wakes up, but then reality hits him and it ends up making him feel worse – it's sweet but bad for you, just like hard candy.
One of my all-time favorite songs, the nostalgic melody matches the lyrics perfectly.