Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: funk
Song Meaning of “Pantomime” by Incubus
The song ‘Pantomime’ by Incubus speaks of how one may find themselves in a relationship that is volatile and unsatisfying. They are aware that it has become a toxic situation but feel unable to break away or make a rational decision on the matter. It’s almost as if the situation has become a performance.
The narrator of the song paints a picture of a type of inertia brought on by the lack of harmony between two people, instead of resolution and communication they slip deeper into a sort of symbiotic ‘pantomime’. The verses explore the feelings of entitlement, resentful roller coasters and empty gestures.
The chorus of the song speaks of the narrator’s growing determination to escape the situation they find themselves in. Despite their partner’s excuses for why their relationship should remain, the narrator is ready to face whatever may be waiting beyond the illusion of ‘security’ they feel in their current circumstance. They break through the stagnant air blocking clear thought and regain control of their lives.
In the end, the lyrics of ‘Pantomime’ serve as a rallying cry for us all to take back our lives in an unhealthy relationship and to break out of our respective ‘pantomime’.