Song Meaning
The lyrics present a surreal opening, questioning reality with "What if everyone was made of salad?" This immediately sets a whimsical, almost nonsensical tone that carries into the narrative of Caitlin. She's depicted sifting through magazines and finding her father's image, a seemingly ordinary act that quickly pivots to the bizarre.
Caitlin's response to this discovery is to immediately order and construct a peculiar "apparatus devised for slinging children." This action, juxtaposed with the mundane act of finding a photo, suggests a profound disconnect or a highly unconventional coping mechanism. The lyrics imply a desire to physically launch or remove children, perhaps as a reaction to something unsettling or overwhelming related to her father's public image.
The core of the song seems to hinge on this strange, almost Dadaist reaction to a perceived reality. The "blueprint" and "apparatus" suggest a deliberate, engineered response to an emotional or psychological stimulus, rather than a natural one. It's as if Caitlin is trying to build her way out of an uncomfortable truth or a confusing situation.
This bizarre scenario is effective because it taps into a feeling of absurdity and the unexpected ways people might process difficult information. The contrast between the mundane (magazines, ordering blueprints) and the extreme (slinging children) creates a memorable, unsettling image that lingers, prompting the listener to question the underlying emotional logic.