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Introduction
Melanie Martinez frames “POSSESSION” like a cracked snow globe: pretty on the outside, dangerous once shaken. The song stages an abusive power dynamic through doll imagery and carnival chants, making the horror feel childlike yet visceral.
Verse 1
“I hit my head real hard, I woke up in a jar / On top of his blue metal shelf full of trinkets”
The speaker awakens as an object among other “trinkets,” a visual that shrinks them to shelf size. The jar suggests captivity and fragility, priming the theme of being owned rather than loved.
“I feed him kisses so I don’t break down to pieces”
Affection becomes currency for safety. The porcelain metaphor underscores how self-sacrifice props up the abuser’s ego while keeping the narrator physically and emotionally intact.
Pre-Chorus
“And now he’s hungry, I’ll feed him candy”
Hunger morphs into entitlement. “Candy” sweetens the coercion, highlighting how caretaking duties disguise exploitation.
Chorus
“Baby, I’m your possession, handle me like a weapon”
The chorus is a chilling pledge of obedience. To be both “possession” and “weapon” means the abuser wields the narrator against their own wellbeing. Gaslighting instructions—“tell me, ‘Keep quiet’”—cement the erasure of voice, folding into themes of identity erosion and performative perfection.
“Put me up like a prize, I’ll be a good housewife”
Public display contrasts with private neglect. The line critiques patriarchal trophies, exposing how domestic roles can be enforced through emotional blackmail.
Verse 2
“He leaves me all alone, from dusk to ****in’ dawn / I’ll clean up after all his shit, I’m the housekeeper”
Loneliness and servitude replace intimacy. Swear words snap the fairytale glaze, grounding the narrative in raw exhaustion.
“I try my best to bite my tongue, but it keeps bleedin’”
Self-silencing becomes physically painful. The bleeding tongue is a visceral emblem of repressed outrage, tying back to themes of voice suppression and self-harm ideation.
Second Pre-Chorus
“How could he love me if he won’t see me?”
The rhetorical question exposes the core wound: invisibility. The threat of self-destruction—“crying with a knife”—shows how internalized blame festers into despair.
Outro
“Took the keys and left, drove into a tree… A concussion reversin’ all the damage I had”
The crash is both literal and symbolic. Impact jolts the speaker out of dissociation, suggesting that a shocking rupture can shatter psychological cages. Though “bruised,” they finally reclaim ownership of their body and choices.
Conclusion
“POSSESSION” laces dollhouse imagery with blunt confessions to spotlight how manipulation drains agency. Martinez lets the speaker stumble, bleed and ultimately collide with freedom, proving that even porcelain can turn to shrapnel when it refuses to stay on the shelf.
