The Dresden Dolls - Coin Operated Boy [OFFICIAL VIDEO] 

I literally just randomly started singing this song while doing laundry and I stopped and had a moment of shock because I haven’t thought or heard of this song in a literal decade if not more.

This is a song about a woman who desperately wants to find true love and companionship but who is terrified by the idea of being with a real, flawed person and experiencing the pain that comes along with it. All the other ones are guys who have been with her who she rejected because they turned out to be real, flawed dudes. I think the coin-operated boy in the video is a fantasy but also could be someone she has found who is willing to play the part of the idealized fantasy image she has in her head. This person is willing to exist co-dependently in the relationship while sacrificing their own sense of self and their own human, emotional needs. The sad irony is that, while they are in a relationship together, emotionally, they are both alone and isolated. trapped in a miserable, loveless relationship based on an impossible fantasy.

My mom used to listen to this song all the time as I was growing up and I always found it "annoying". She passed away three years ago, and now as a grown adult going back to this song, it breaks my heart because I now know that she was just lonely and fed up with all the abusive relationships she was in as a single parent raising me. 😔

I have a feeling a lot of people don't realize how sad this song is.

as someone who likes both this song and the broadway karkat parody i never know which one is gonna play when i hear the opening notes and i sit there waiting in fear and dread until i hear the first sung line

Everybody Talking about the meaning of the song. Me: *staring at her tattooed cursive eyebrows.*

I used to listen to this song every day and watch the video with it. It has been almost 8 or 9 years I think since I heard/saw it but as soon as it played I remembered every word she sings and every detail in this video. I also remember their website was like a doll-house and you could explore all the rooms. Oh nostalgia... I wish I was 16 again

I was at a bar a few weeks ago and a girl sang this for karaoke and I fell absolutely in love with it. I'm glad I was there to hear it.

with the sheer amount of times ive listened to gfdi dave you think i wouldnt be suprised hearing this

I think at the end my heart broke, because he looked so tired of life, but he still loved her enough to comfort her, when she seemed upset.

god i can still hear the zipper at the end

I absolutely LOVE this song. It wouldn't be out of place in, say, a Turn-of-the-Century Viennese avant-garde theatre or a Weimar-Era Berlin cabaret. Einfach wunderbar! 🤘

I'm fairly certain that the song is NOT meant to be an objectification of men. The song is about wanting a 'perfect' relationship with the 'perfect' partner. But people aren't perfect and a "coin operated boy" would be, by definition, 'perfect' but he wouldn't be *real*.

Amanda is talented beyond belief. What a sad song. I feel it's about building walls after being hurt by someone you loved deeply and being scared to be intimate again. the only way you can deal with intimacy is through your fantasy i.e the 'perfect' man or woman.

My wife & I used this for an ice dancing free dance program a few years ago. It was my favorite of all we did.

I was listening to this and every time I try to I hear the “god fucking dammit Dave” audio

Absolute genius. Amanda is a very special and unique human being.

I kinda knew what the song was about when I was in middle school but now that I’m 27 I GET what the heck this song is about. I want one too sis.

to me, this song is about someone who is so done with "love" and the complications that go with it that they would rather deal with something simpler... something that doesn't involve feelings or other complications. it might not amount to "love" but it is so much easier.

I CAN'T LISTEN TO THIS WITHOUT HEARING GFDI DAVE.

The more I listen to this song the sadder is gets. It's gone from, "Aww, cute" to "Ha, Vibrators" to "Wow that's actually very sad..."

I love how the beat is mechanical sounding in parts and winding down toward the end just as you would expect something coin operated to act. Lyrics and rhythm combining to portray the story. Genius! :)

I may have giggled loudly at the bathtub part.

This song has been so misunderstood lol but remains one of my favorite songs to cure my depression. And I’m a guy lol. This song is more deep than people realize

OK, Lets set the record straight I watched an interview with Amanda Palmer she said this is the most mistook song she ever made. It is NOT about a vibrator or dildo, It is about a girl that wants the "perfect" guy. She knows she will never find one so she builds one so that everything in her little world is what she considers perfection. End of Story !

She wants a perfect relationship. But she realizes that a perfect relationship with a fake person isn't productive either. She ends up realizing that she'd rather be with the person she actually loves than a fake person she just made up even though that person isn't perfect and they won't have a perfect relationship.

I have only just found this amazing group and this song just blows my mind, so relatable. Amanda Palmer is amazing.

The song is about loneliness. I think you may be missing the point if you think it is about her wanting a sex doll.

Hello, I am a Homestuck and I came here because of GFDI Dave. I like this song.

Lonely crying to this song yet again, so relatable. What I would even do without it

This was one but not only one of my Ma's favourite songs, she just needed a rock among a vast ocean. Bless her heart

I've been looking for this song ever since I heard it on the radio as a kid. What a haunting tune.

Coin operated boy, sitting on the shelf He is just a toy but I turn him on and he comes to life Automatic joy that is why I want A coin operated boy Made of plastic and elastic He is rugged and long lasting Who could ever ever ask for more? Love without complications galore Many shapes and weights to chose from I will never leave my bedroom I will never cry at night again Wrap my arms around him and pretend Coin operated boy All the other real ones that I destroy Cannot hold a candle to my new boy And I'll never let him go And I'll never be alone And I'll never let him go And I'll never be alone, go And I'll never be alone, go And I'll never be alone, go And I'll never be alone, go And I'll never be alone Not with my coin operated boy This bridge was written to make you feel smitten And with my sad picture of girl getting bitterer Oh, can you extract me from my plastic fantasy I didn't think so but I'm still convincible Oh will you persist even after I bet you a million dollars That I'll never love you and will you persist even after I kiss you Goodbye for the last time will you be trying to prove it, I'm dying To lose it, I'm losing my confidence I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to I want you, I want you, I want you, I want you I want a, I want a, I want a, I want a coin operated boy And if I had a star to wish on for my life I can't imagine any flesh and blood could be this match I can even take him in the bath Coin operated boy, he may not be real experienced with girls But I know, he feels like a boy should feel, isn't that the point That is why I want a coin operated boy With a pretty coin operated voice saying That he loves me, that he's thinking of me Straight and to the point that is why I want a coin operated boy

If you find this song relatable you'll understand that if you're needy for love enough, you'll invent your very own boyfriend. If you can't relate with this song, you'll think it's about a vibrator.

Damn, if I were a teacher I would totally show this to my students, because it's a great point of discussion. You'd find out a lot about a person based on their reaction to this song/video.

Note: "I can even take him in the bath" is NOT the line she uses in concert.

i love this song...its about wanting to have someone who is always there for you, always faithful, and always loving you...without all the little arguments and complications that come with relationships

I'll always remember you Brendan...All Cyberpunks in reply F for the nicest vending machine.

isnt it ironic used to be platonic

My English teacher played this in our class and I was like yo this is cool

Help I can't stop listening to this song.

I remember going to see Simple Plan in concert, and The Dresden Dolls were part of the few opening acts. They played one song and Amanda broke her wrist while she was on the keyboard! This was over 10 years ago, and I still love this band!

Wow, I was obsessed with this album when it came out, and for years afterwards, but this is the first time I'm seeing the video! Going to have to run through the whole album now.

this is such a good song...... but.... i can’t. i can’t listen to it. it’s impossible.

Feel like I've been in a time machine listening to this again >

That was surprisingly depressing

my dad used to listen to this a lot and i’ve been looking for the song for years because he’s dead and this song just holds a special place in my heart

I grew up with this song and to this day I come back just to remember how many times my sister sung this song to me when I was three

BRENDAN I MISS YOU! :(((((

What a great song! Hope it doesnt get a parody based of a webcomic whereas a troll is doing the self pleasure thinking about a human.

If he's artificial he can't hurt you. Sometimes that feels safer and better than risking it with these flawed people who only break your heart. That's when you know you're more hurt than to want to be alone, and more lonely than to want a love.

This song is genuinely so sad, I wish I listened to this before getting into homestuck 😭😭

I did competitive dance for 10 years and a dance academy competing against us did a routine to this song. It was stuck in my head for weeks! xD

Sad, lonely, relatable. I too want someone that doesn't exist, that would never hurt me. Thank God for imagination at least. Ironically, the imaginary are more human than real physical ones.

I'd only heard Girl Anachronism and Runs in the Family before listening to this. It caught me by surprise how smooth her voice sounds, especially in the beginning!

i hate that i heard gfdi dave before this and i can only hear that when listening to this

I love this song. The video is great too. I just started reading Amanda's book "The Art of Asking" & it made me think I had missed something. Boy did I ever.

this song makes me both happy and sad at the same time. its just amazing. I can relate very much to the lyrics. and the last moments of the video where amanda looks like she is about to start crying and brian strokes her face. so beautiful! this is ART!

RIP Brendan

A genius song! Great from beginning to end and has guts! Don't over analyze it; it means what it means to you. No need to explain. Amanda Palmer is one of the Real Deals!

This song is pure genius. Pure art. Beautiful.

Everytime someone mentions this song I have to listen to it. So good!

The last line “I want a coin operated boy with a pretty coin operated voice saying that he loves me and he’s thinking of me straight and to the point that is why I want a coin operated boy” always gets so me 😭

This song didn't have to go my jugular like that

Excellent song, deep meaning, beautifully acted, photographed and cut! Why have I never heard it before, what year was it introduced?

Espero ya regresen, una banda que mereció tener mas fans!!! Los creadores del rock de cabaret! Merecen un nuevo disco

Ive been listening to the blues for over an hour, I need this song to lighten my mood.

One of the greatest songs written in the last 20 years....that no one has heard! As well as written by one of the best songwriters of the last 20 years in Amanda Palmer....who no one has heard of!

As charming as the vintage VHS look is, someone needs to remaster this work of art

god fu- oh

Saw these two play at roskilde festival in '05. It was incredible and that dude is an amazing drummer.

Theatrical eye-brows & musical score. The drummer scores.

now I’m horns over hills, for, god, fucking dammit dave

Found this song through homestuck; GFDI Dave. And I love both so much!

Eight years. And I'm sitting in my living room and BOOM! It's stuck in my head and I have to listen to it. Go Amanda Palmer!

I just started singing this song and I had to come back and listen again after a few years. Such a good song to sing out loud and feel all the feelings!

Still one of my most favorite music videos ever.. ❤

I have a feeling that a lot of people think that a lot of people don't realize how sad this song is to make them feel unique which they aren't because they can only feel individualistic in a collective.

There are so many little motions that make this so adorable. Like when the blink from the camera flash. Or how he drinks the milkshake. This is the cutest band ever. But not lame cute

Despite the hidden sadness, what an utterly joyful song ! Filmed and edited to perfection. I could show this to my Granny and she would clap.

This song never gets old for me :)

well done amanda, i love that you are keeping WEIMAR GERMAN dark Kabarett music very much alive, i am sure you will be winning some prestigious music awards, grammies, oscars, very soon with your songs

I love this song. I'm happy to see it still on RU-vid. First time I heard this song, someone had made a "music video" for this song but used clips from Edward Scissorhands. It was back in 2007 at the dawn of RU-vid. I don't know why, but this song still puts me in my feels. After reading some comments, I can agree that I'm saddened by this song because of the melancholy and relatable topic.

Shout outs to anyone who feels like this 🫣🤭😢 such an old school banger 🔥

Amanda is so real. She's not a fake model of a girl. That makes her 100 times more beautiful

This song is even more brilliant when you watch it performed live.

Wow, blew me away hearing this gorgeous masterpiece. I love it. Thanks 🙂

This is such a unique and memorable song. I'm not even sure if I like it or not, but I couldn't possibly forget it. I know of nothing else like it.

This song hits me real hard! And people thinking that it's about sex toys makes me sad.

*now i realize* *i’m horns over heels*

These guys are in my top 5 best concerts I’ve ever been to. Really want to see them again now they’re sorta reunited

Omg, I haven’t heard this song in so long. I don’t even remember why I came across it but I love it, it’s so much fun to sing! 😄.

never thought id say homestuck is the reason i got into dresden dolls.

In my college years. I went to event where you had Neil Gaiman and his wife Amanda Palmer preforming in NYC. It was more about Amanda Palmer. However she preformed her version of Coin Operated boy. Amanda Palmer was the one with the good singing voice. Neil Gaiman sung too, but no very well. When I was back on campus and was telling two of my female friends about it they said that they loved the song “Coin Operated Boy.”

I used it to be so obsessed with this song!! Ughh, the MEMORIES!!

The greatest bridge in any song ever!!

OOOHHHHHH.. THIS is where the GODDAMMIT DAVE song comes from. Huh it took like 10 years but I finally came across the original. Neat

I will never not hear "Coin Operated Goi" Thanks a lot, Voltaire.

Omg I’ve been looking for this song thought it was automatic boy lol loved this song and especially when she performed it live and she was like let me take my sweater off take it off take it offf!!!! It was such a memorable performance in my head been looking for it finally remembered the melody and it brought me here thank you!

There is no such thing as the perfect love So sad😔 I remember when this came out loved it