Most or all of the interpretations have the same theme: breaking free of something that is holding back the hero. The difference is what the interpreters think the "something" is and who the hero is.
In the song, the "something" is represented as a malevolent male with a "seeping mouth" who knows exactly what and who the hero ("she") is, behind the front that the hero puts on. The narrator is advising her to put on a brave face ("a smile to hide the fear") and banish what prevents her from being who she wants to be ("smear this man across the walls").
The setting of this battle seems to be a literal or metaphorical bedroom. I think the bedroom represents what is both safe and stifling. Think of a kid who sits in his bedroom all day because he is afraid to deal with the hostile world outside.
In the final stanza, the hero and the narrator merge. "She" becomes "I." After the hero has fought "him" off, life looks externally the same ("same clean bed"). However, the hero has grown.
The joyful exuberant music confirms this interpretation of this theme of breaking free. I love this song. Whenever I hear it, I start smiling and--if I can--dancing around. It makes me want to run across a lawn with my shoes off and whoop. That's how it hits me, anyway.
I have no idea what Smith had in mind for "he" when he wrote this song. But if he had something specific in mind, what didn't he make it specific? I think he left it open for interpretation because we all have a "he" either internally or externally who is holding us back from something. My "he" is my own tendency to cynicism, negative thinking, and self-blame. And I think the advice is dead-on: smear it across the wall. It's the only way to be.
p.s. I'm not sure whether the lyric means "smear him across the walls, as if you were smearing strawberries and cream across the walls," or "smear him across the walls, and then be free, which is as delicious as strawberries and cream." I think the latter, but I don't know.
Most or all of the interpretations have the same theme: breaking free of something that is holding back the hero. The difference is what the interpreters think the "something" is and who the hero is.
In the song, the "something" is represented as a malevolent male with a "seeping mouth" who knows exactly what and who the hero ("she") is, behind the front that the hero puts on. The narrator is advising her to put on a brave face ("a smile to hide the fear") and banish what prevents her from being who she wants to be ("smear this man across the walls").
The setting of this battle seems to be a literal or metaphorical bedroom. I think the bedroom represents what is both safe and stifling. Think of a kid who sits in his bedroom all day because he is afraid to deal with the hostile world outside.
In the final stanza, the hero and the narrator merge. "She" becomes "I." After the hero has fought "him" off, life looks externally the same ("same clean bed"). However, the hero has grown.
The joyful exuberant music confirms this interpretation of this theme of breaking free. I love this song. Whenever I hear it, I start smiling and--if I can--dancing around. It makes me want to run across a lawn with my shoes off and whoop. That's how it hits me, anyway.
I have no idea what Smith had in mind for "he" when he wrote this song. But if he had something specific in mind, what didn't he make it specific? I think he left it open for interpretation because we all have a "he" either internally or externally who is holding us back from something. My "he" is my own tendency to cynicism, negative thinking, and self-blame. And I think the advice is dead-on: smear it across the wall. It's the only way to be.
p.s. I'm not sure whether the lyric means "smear him across the walls, as if you were smearing strawberries and cream across the walls," or "smear him across the walls, and then be free, which is as delicious as strawberries and cream." I think the latter, but I don't know.