I've always interpeted it as being about an unplanned pregnancy between a couple where the girl feels controlled and silenced by the guy, the girl thinks about getting an abortion but decides against it, and eventually the pregnancy gives her the strength to stand up for herself. Hence: She tries very hard to tell her boyfriend she wants to leave him but something keeps stopping her "saved again by the garbage truck." "Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon" (get a period) "My scream got lost in a paper cup" (home pregnancy test means her chances of leaving the relationship are cut short) (The "mermaid" I think is a reference to sperm tails) "I got 25 bucks and a cracker do you think that's enough to get us there. (the abortion clinic" She then worries about whether she will want a baby in the future and regret the abortion "Years go by if I'm stripped of my beauty And the orange clouds raining in my head Years go by will I choke on my tears Till finally there is nothing left One more casualty You know we're to easy." (as in the abortion would be an easy way out that she will ultimately regret.) He finds it difficult to talk to her, or look her in the eye "your eyes focus on my funny lip shape." Not knowing how to deal with the bombshell he eventually replaces her as the silent one in the relationship "Your turn now to stand where I stand." Just my interpretation, since Amos almost never explains her lyrics in interview. If you want to read other people's interpretations on Tori Amos lyrics (and add your own if you like) try this site: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/3939/

Each verse is about a different time of a girls life. The Antichrist in the kitchen is her parent screaming at her and taking out the garbage has saved her for a bit.Next she is a teen and her boyfriend wants to break up after steeling her virginity. Then she is a young lover but it wont last, "the sky is falling". The young mans mother is the problem. That chorus is about the mans ex-wife clouding the relationship.