I can't help but think of when John Darnielle talked about "Best Ever Metal Band Out of Denton." He said something along the lines of: "A lot of people laugh at this song, but there's nothing funny about being sent to a goddamn hospital and having to explain you're not a terrorist or a serial killer because of the music you listen to." Now certainly there was a comedic hook to the song, it was about a pair of goofballs who wanted to be edgy rock musicians. But when you get into the overall theme and meaning of the song, it gets a lot more serious and you even empathize and root for the characters you were just laughing at.
I think in a way, this song is a lot like that. On the surface, it's just a silly song about Mario Brothers from the perspective of a one-note minor character. But really, it goes a bit deeper than that. It's making you feel what the character actually felt. Toad is just a scared, frightened and confused kid who got kidnapped by strange-looking monsters for reasons he never understood, fearing everyday that he might actually die. Finally, he gets rescued, but it's not really even on purpose. Mario didn't even know he was there. He was looking for the princess. What might just be the most important moment in Toad's life right now is just a confusing obstacle for Mario. He basically got rescued on accident. Of course, he's still relieved. You realize maybe that the whole "on accident" part should take a backseat to the "rescued" part.
I can't help but think of when John Darnielle talked about "Best Ever Metal Band Out of Denton." He said something along the lines of: "A lot of people laugh at this song, but there's nothing funny about being sent to a goddamn hospital and having to explain you're not a terrorist or a serial killer because of the music you listen to." Now certainly there was a comedic hook to the song, it was about a pair of goofballs who wanted to be edgy rock musicians. But when you get into the overall theme and meaning of the song, it gets a lot more serious and you even empathize and root for the characters you were just laughing at.
I think in a way, this song is a lot like that. On the surface, it's just a silly song about Mario Brothers from the perspective of a one-note minor character. But really, it goes a bit deeper than that. It's making you feel what the character actually felt. Toad is just a scared, frightened and confused kid who got kidnapped by strange-looking monsters for reasons he never understood, fearing everyday that he might actually die. Finally, he gets rescued, but it's not really even on purpose. Mario didn't even know he was there. He was looking for the princess. What might just be the most important moment in Toad's life right now is just a confusing obstacle for Mario. He basically got rescued on accident. Of course, he's still relieved. You realize maybe that the whole "on accident" part should take a backseat to the "rescued" part.
Then you realize it's not about Mario anymore.